Chuck versus Fallout Girl
by Robert Modean
Summary: AU - Chuck and the Team find themselves at odds as hurt feelings lead to misunderstandings and a night of drinking leads to too much truth. Amidst the chaos Chuck flashes on a millionaire Greek arms dealer and Bryce Larkin returns to stir the pot.
1. Chapter 1: The Grapes of Wrath

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own nor am I involved with the production of _Chuck._ On the plus side, I work cheap so if Zach is reading this - call me.

Synopsis: The Team succcessfully took down Ty Bennett, Casey's Sensei and Mentor, but General Beckman isn't happy about the team's performance - or more accurately she's not happy about the agents performance. A royal reaming for Casey and Sarah, along with much deserved praise for Chuck, sows discord among the ranks that could tear them apart. The grapes of wrath make a bitter wine indeed.

_A/N: Adult language and situations apply._

**Chuck versus Fallout Girl - Chapter One - The Grapes of Wrath**

* * *

The day after another successful mission finds the team delivering their after action report to General Beckman. Casey, Chuck and Sarah sitting at the conference table in front of the big plasma screen where an apparently irritated General Beckman listens to them recount the take down and capture of Ty Bennett and his black market weapons ring.

"…and it was then that Major Casey maneuvered Bennett into engaging him in unarmed combat during which Major Casey was able to defeat him. The FBI Strike Team arrived on the scene not long afterwards having been alerted by yourself, General."

"And that's your entire report Agent Walker?"

"That's all the pertinent data ma'am, yes."

"Would someone care to explain how the Intersect got captured by Bennett's men when according to both you and Major Casey he was secured in your storefront by tempered steel handcuffs?"

"I can do that General. I MacGyvered them."

"I'm sorry Mr Bartowski, you did what?"

"The TV Show MacGyver? See I was able to detach the coolant line from the compressor that runs the reach-in freezer and spray the handcuff chain with tetraflouromethane. That lowered the tensile strength of the chain until it was brittle enough that I could break it with a sprinkle scoop. Seriously, Does no one in the spy world watch TV?"

"Unfortunately we're usually too busy trying to ensure national security to get in much TV time. Nonetheless yours was a very ingenious solution Mr Bartowski. It was also emblematic of everything that this team did wrong on this mission."

"With all due respect General, we got Bennett and broke up his black market weapons ring. I'd say some 'atta boys' are in order."

"Would you Major Casey? And would one of those 'atta boys' be for your disobeying a direct order? Or perhaps I should award one to Agent Walker for abandoning the Intersect to help you?"

"General, Chuck was handcuffed inside a secured building. I would hardly call that abandoning him. If he had stayed put as I'd told him he wouldn't have been in any trouble at all."

"Really Agent Walker, and exactly how often does Mr Bartowski do as he's told? It's well established that he has an impulsive nature. Since he's not a trained agent you need to adapt to his behavior."

"I'm sorry General, but Casey was only doing what he felt he had to do to stop Bennett. And Sarah, Agent Walker, told me to stay here. In fact if I hadn't gone down in the Castle in the first place to talk to Casey he wouldn't have gotten out so it's not their fault. If you want to be mad at anyone it should be me since you know, I don't do the whole order following thing well."

"Actually Mr Bartowski you are the only person I am not upset with at the moment. Nothing you did was out of the ordinary for you and your instincts served you well on this mission. Casey and Walker are professionals, I hold them to a higher standard of performance than an untrained asset. What I find particularly disturbing is the total breakdown in discipline and the fact that their survival, let alone the success of this mission, was at some point almost entirely dependent on you. I expect better of you both in the future."

The screen blanked out and the three sat their quietly. The uncomfortable silence lasted until Chuck felt broke the silence.

"Well that could have gone better."

"Walker, I suggest you get your boy toy out of here before I forget my job is to protect him from harm."

"Chuck, go back to work. I'll talk to you tonight."

"Look, I'm sorry Casey I didn't mean to..."

"Chuck! Just leave. Now!" Sarah barked at him.

Sarah glared as the lanky figure that recoiled from her like he'd been shot. She was shocked by her own outburst but steeled herself against showing any weakness in front of Casey. She saw the hurt expression on Chuck's face and turned away from him, her own face a mask of stone.

"Chuck, just go."

Chuck ascended the stairs leaving the Castle in silence. At the top of the landing he turned back momentarily to look at Casey and Sarah who were working in silence at the conference table.

"My lunch break's over so I'll be back at Buy More if anyone needs me."

"Not much of a chance at that is there Bartowski?"

Chuck stood there a moment longer but Sarah kept her back toward him and Casey just sneered. Finally he keyed in the exit code and went back to the Buy More. Casey and Sarah worked wordlessly for several minutes until the secured line chimed indicating an incoming call. Sarah reached for the phone automatically.

"Chuck? Listen I..." The look on her face changed suddenly from a hopeful expression to one that was purely professional. "Sorry General. Yes Ma'am. Understood Ma'am. Right away Ma'am."

"Beckman?"

"Yeah."

"Well? Did she have something to say or was it just chit-chat between you girls?"

"It concerned Chuck," Sarah's voice was flat and emotionless. "There's a CIA cleared Neurologist in town, she wants me to take him in for an examination."

"What, exposing the Intersect to another Zarnow? That's smart."

"The cover will be he's an analyst who's just there getting a routine checkup."

"Really? What's the point."

"It's a routine medical exam Casey, that's the point." Sarah got up and started walking toward the stairs "You know Casey, not everything is a about a mission. Sometimes it's about people."

"You mean sometimes it's about a person don't you Walker? Sometimes it's about Chuck."

"What are you getting at Casey?"

"What I'm getting at is that I just got my ass handed to me by Beckman because you're boyfriend couldn't keep it in his pants."

"Really Casey, that's what your going with - Me and Chuck? I'm disappointed, I'd have thought you'd have some new material by now or is the scotch doing more than just slowing down your reflexes?"

"Watch it Walker."

"Or what?" Sarah could see the conflict on Casey's face but she had so much pent up anger she didn't care. "Admit it Casey, this isn't about me and Chuck – this is about you and Chuck."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Sure you do. You couldn't have beaten Bennett if Chuck hadn't helped you. Bennett was wiping the floor with you until Chuck 'fixed' your center. He got you so angry you could actually beat your old Master. That's it isn't it? That's what this is really all about. The fact that you needed Chuck."

"Sounds like someone's projecting. Let me clear something up for you Walker. Bartowski may have helped by getting me good and riled, but I didn't need him to beat Bennett, and I don't need him now. I'm not the one running around this place wondering '_why can't that be me_?' every time he sees a skirt and gets the jones for some female action."

"He's an asset Casey, I'm his handler. That's the limit of our relationship.

"Really? Well maybe you should start 'handling' him. The boy's walking round like a love struck puppy half the time, getting into trouble trying to 'save' you, hell that's why he broke out of here in the first place."

"And if he hadn't we'd be dead, or are you forgetting that he's the one that alerted Beckman to our location so she could call in the strike team? Listen, I'll deal with Chuck my own way. He's not someone that needs the blunt instrument approach you favor Casey."

"Yeah, well maybe you could use a remedial class Walker. Because it was easy as pie for me to manipulate him down here, all I had to do was 'share my feelings' and he was down here in a flash looking to be my friend. Maybe if you did a little sharing of your own he'd stay in the car once in a while."

Sarah said nothing more, but choked off her anger and marched up the stairs of the Castle and out into the Orange Orange. The door clunked behind her and Casey sat down silently at his console, a grin of satisfaction on his face.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

That afternoon Chuck sat at the Nerd Herd desk hunched over a computer screen with a stack of papers next to him; he was diligently entering data into the system in an almost automatic fashion. His movements were mechanical, devoid of any sign of intelligent life. By the wall of televisions Lester and Jeff stood staring at the scene before them, taking it all in.

"Dude, this is messed up." Jeff's glassy stare cleared as he tried to focus on Chuck.

"That it is Jeffery, that it is. It is a sad, sad thing to watch a great man fall slowly into oblivion." Lester turned as he heard someone coming up behind them.

"Hey guys, what are we talking about?"

"Oh, hey Morgan." Lester went back to watching Chuck

"We're talking about Chuck. He's just sitting there like a lump doing our invoices from the last two months." Jeff popped another Mentos into his mouth and started to bite down on it. "mmm. Minty"

"Chuck? Why would he do that? Something must be wrong." Morgan started walking toward the nerd herd desk.

"Aw, Morgan. Wait!" Lester followed in his wake. "Jeff! Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"mmm. Minty" Jeff wandered toward the men's room.

Morgan made a b-line to the Nerd Herd desk. He looked at Chuck, hunched behind the screen on his laptop doggedly punching at the keys, barely even aware of his surroundings just plugging away mechanically. This was bad.

"So, Chuck. How's it going buddy?" Morgan tried his best upbeat voice.

"Oh, hey Morgan. It's going, I guess."

"Say Chuck, whatcha' doing there big guy?"

"Hmm? Oh nothing. Just entering invoices into the system."

"Chuck those aren't even your invoices, there Lester's. What's with you man? You've been in a funk for the last week, ever since Thanksgiving you've been walking around just going through the motions. What's wrong Chuck, talk to me, talk to the Morgan"

"There's nothing to talk about. I'm just helping Lester and Jeff get caught up now would you let it go?"

"No Chuck, I can't just let it go. This isn't like you man. You used to be happy, you used to be fun. You and Sarah were a couple of happy, go lucky kids. Now look at you guys. I haven't seen the two of you spend more than five minutes together in the last week. What's wrong man? Is it lady troubles?"

"Morgan, enough. There is nothing going on between me and Sarah."

"Oh my God, it's worse than I thought. She's dumped you?"

"No Morgan, now let it go ok? She hasn't dumped me, we're just both really busy right now."

"Ah, it's because of Jill isn't it? Jill who ruined your life once before has come back from the relationship grave to put the kibosh on you and Sarah, am I right?"

"No."

"Then work with me here Chuck," Morgan was plaintive now. "Because the last time you acted like this was when you were trying to figure out why Jill broke up with you. You told me you got that closure after you dumped her last week, but here you are again, all mopey. So what is it?"

Chuck said nothing but stared back at Morgan.

"That's it isn't it? The fallout from Jill is poisoning the groundwater of your love for Sarah, I'm right aren't I?"

"Morgan I'm not sure I even know what you're saying."

Chuck gave Morgan a faint smile and got up to leave. His little buddy was worried, and that was Morgan, always thinking about him, but for once he just wished he'd let things be. All he wanted to do was get some work done so he could feel useful at something.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

While Chuck was at the Nerd Herd desk the remaining Nerd Herd had gathered and in the media room with one green shirted little man. Anna, Jeff, and Lester sat on the couch looking up curiously at Morgan who was pacing back and forth in front of the large screen TV.

"So what is it Morgan? What's so important that you needed us here?" Anna Wu had adopted a sultry and defiant pose for the meeting. She was wanted Morgan to suffer and lust after her, but not in front of this Jeff and Lester who were, well, far too creepy for her taste.

"Anna, this isn't about us, it's about Chuck." Morgan noticed appreciatively how the all, even Jeff, became focused on him. "Chuck has a problem and he needs our help."

"What is it Morgan?" Lester asked, "and does helping Chuck mean I have to do my own paperwork?"

"Shut up Lester, we're listening Morgan."

"Thank you Anna, folks. Chuck is dealing with a little problem I like to call Fallout Girl."

"Fallout Girl, what is that – some sort of new game demo?"

"Would that it were Lester, would that it were." Morgan struck a dramatic prose. "You see our Chuck is a man with a big heart and his greatest weakness is that he loves too much, to deeply. The last time he was in love, before Sarah that is, was his college sweetheart, Jill."

"The skinny bitch brunette? No problem, I'll kick her ass." Anna cracked her knuckles loudly.

"Ohh Anna" Jeff leered.

"Back off perv, I've told you it'll never happen."

"Relax Anna, you don't need to kick her ass. It's too late for that anyway, he's already dumped her."

"So Morgan, this fallout girl. What's the deal? If she's not in the picture how can she be the problem?"

"Lester it's like this: Jill is like a nuclear bomb and when the relationship goes boom, the fallout makes the area unlivable for decades." Morgan waited for his analogy to sink in. "After they broke up the first time I spent months getting him out of his dark place and making him a semi-functional person again. It took years for him to get over her enough to start dating. He finally meets the dream woman, Sarah, and what happens – Jill comes back into his life."

"But what can we do? You said he broke up with her." Jeff looked less confused than usual, a hopeful sign in Morgan's eyes.

"True, this time when the got back together he dumped her but she still managed to work her voodoo on him."

"But I saw them together at Thanksgiving dinner," Lester realized he was on to something. "I was there and so was Jeff, and so were you Morgan. They were happy, there was hand holding and meaningful looks, he even walked her out."

"And I saw them kissing. He kissed her" Jeff was emphatic in this, voyeurism was one of his few actual talents and that had to count for something.

"I know but the signs are all there. He's morose, and moping, and melancholy and other things starting with M." Morgan came to a conclusion, "We've got to stop Chuck from screwing this up with Sarah. You guys work on getting him to forget Jill, I'm going to talk to Sarah."

Morgan took off for the Orange Orange formulating his line of attack even as he walked across the parking lot. He'd be subtle, he'd be cagey, he'd come at the problem so sensitively Sarah wouldn't know he was even talking about it. At least that was his plan.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Sarah was waiting on a customer when she saw Chuck's hairy little friend Morgan come trotting across the parking lot. She groaned inwardly, he was harmless really and in his own, really creepy way, he was sort of sweet. But even if you cold get past his obsessively possessive behavior with Chuck, he was still a strange little man and today of all days she just didn't have the patience for him. He gave her a small wave as he entered the store and stood patiently in the background until the person she was waiting on walked out the door. Sarah screwed on her happy face and prepared to deal with him.

"Hey Morgan. What brings Chuck's bestest buddy to the Orange Orange? Hungry for some free frozen yogurt?"

"Sarah, we need to talk, it's Chuck. It's not good." Morgan watched as her gaze narrowed and her face became serious, this was a good sign.

"Why?! Has something happened to him?" Sarah tried to contain herself but Morgan's tone suggested the worst, reflexively she reached across the counter and grabbed Morgan by his shirt. "Speak Morgan!"

"Whoa! Whoa and ow!" Morgan grabbed Sarah's hand and tried to pull away only to feel her grip tighten. "Ow! Ow!"

"Speak Morgan, Now!" Sarah gave her wrist a twist yanking on the shirt and chest beneath it. Morgan responded immediately.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Okay, Okay I'll talk, jeez."

"What's wrong with Chuck, tell me now."

"Well nothing if you'd show this kind of interest in him all the time."

"Morgan..."

"Okay, enough already. He's, he's just not Chuck. Not since he dumped Jill." Morgan gave her an accusatory look, "and not since you decided you needed a break from your relationship."

"What are you talking about?" Sarah was angry and confused, "I never told him I wanted to take a break from us."

"Yeah, well someone needs to tell him then. Honestly Sarah, he's like a broken shell of a man over there. He's doing Lester and Jeff's paper work for cryin' out loud."

"Morgan, go back to work." Sarah started pushing him toward the door. "I'll take care of everything. Just relax, ok?"

"Ok. Um, aren't you forgetting something?"

"I don't thing so."

"My frozen yogurt?"

"Good-bye Morgan."

"I'll be going now." Morgan stopped at the door. "You know Sarah, he really is crazy about you. Don't hurt him, okay?"

Sarah watched the small hairy form of Morgan retreat toward the Buy More and she shook her head. As much as she liked him Chuck could be such a pain sometimes, and right now she really didn't need this. Still, she had to admit that it was amazing the degree to which Chuck inspired loyalty in people. It's what he does, she thought, he gets inside you, he cares about you, and you can't help but want to protect that. Sarah sighed as got ready to deal with the 'problem'. She didn't know what had gone wrong now, but she had to make sure this didn't get out of control. She couldn't afford to have Morgan telling people that they were broken up. She started for the Buy More, she was going to have to fix this now and later she was going to have a serious talk with Chuck.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Sarah stepped in to the Buy More, the store's air handling system caused her hair to flutter around her shoulders. She shifted her weight expertly, causing her hips to swivel and giving her a dramatic presence while she scanned the store for any sign of Chuck. Spotting him near "the wall" with Jeff and Lester she marched purposefully toward the Nerd Herd desk. Sarah was an agent trained in the art of seduction and that included making dramatic entrances. She was well known for her own style and by the time she reached the Nerd Herd desk every Buy More employee and customers within sight was aware of her presence, especially Chuck.

She smiled sweetly at him when she saw his double take. She'd primped a little before walking over here and it was nice to know he'd noticed. A small wink and a blown kiss and she had to contain her laughter when he tripped over his own two feet rushing to get to her. She was still angry with him, but he was so cute sometimes. Morgan was already in tow behind him but she had planned for every eventuality.

"Sarah! What brings my beautiful girlfriend over so unexpectedly!"

"Why I just came to see my sweetie pie." Sarah smiled as Chuck grabbed her elbow and led her toward the CD stacks.

"Am I glad to see you, you have to help me!" Chuck whispered.

"Hey Sarah, glad you could make it."

"Morgan, free frozen yogurt, now go." Sarah handed him a small sack.

"Did you remember the sprinkles? 'Cause I'm all about the sprinkles."

"Go NOW."

"And I'll be going. Later guys."

"Thank God you're here Sarah, you have got to get me out of here."

"First things first." She grabbed his tie and pulled him in for a very long and showy kiss on the lips. "Now, walk with me."

"S-Sarah, what was that about? Don't get me wrong I mean I'm not complaining but, what the hell?"

"Our little buddy Morgan came into the Orange Orange in a tizzy because according to him you were suicidal over our breakup."

"I was what over our what?"

"Apparently you told Morgan I decided we needed a break form our relationship, and now he thinks you're despondent and that we need an intervention."

"Oh, well that explains a lot of things now. Like why Jeff and Lester wanted me to go out with them tonight, or why Anna kept rubbing up against me and telling me Morgan said it was 'ok'."

"Well that may explain things to you Chuck, but it doesn't do it for me."

"What, Why?"

Sarah lowered her voice to a harsh whisper "Because Chuck, we have a cover to maintain and I can't keep dropping everything to come running over here because you can't manage to convince people I'm your girlfriend!"

Chuck felt a blush rising into his cheeks as he heard the anger in Sarah's voice. He wasn't sure where this was coming from but after the way Casey and Sarah had talked to him earlier during their debriefing with General Beckman he'd decided he had about all of the attitude he was going to take for one day.

"Well I'm sorry this was such an imposition for you Agent Walker." Chuck had lowered his voice and mimicked Sarah's tone." I'll make sure everyone knows what a wonderful time I'm having in our fake relationship. Now if you'll excuse me I've got work to do." Chuck stopped suddenly and turned around to face a shocked Sarah, "Oh, and Ellie expects us for dinner at 7PM. Call if you can't make it."

Sarah stood in stunned silence watching Chuck walk away from her. She was supposed to be the angry one, after all she was the person who'd have to drop everything to come over here and repair the damage to their cover. Chuck knew that he had to maintain their cover, and normally he was pretty good, if not enthusiastic, about doing so. She was right, he was wrong. She was obviously angry with him, clearly upset at having to deal with this, and he knew it. She'd expected him to be sorry, apologetic even. Instead he was angry and so unlike himself. Why did she suddenly feel like she'd made a huge mistake?

* * *

_A/N: This is my first fanfic and of course feedback is always welcome, the more specific the better. Thanks!_


	2. Chapter 2: In Vino Veritas

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own nor am I involved with the production of _Chuck._ On the plus side, I work cheap so if Zach is reading this - call me.

Synopsis: After a hard day at the Buy More Chuck has to go home and face an evening with his family and the woman of his dreams. The only problem is she's become the woman of his nightmares! Depressed and angry at Sarah for the way she's been acting toward him Chuck seeks comfort in the bottle and finds that he's not the only one with issues. Alcohol flows and true feeligns are revealed, as the Romans say "In Vino Veritas"!

_A/N: Adult language and situations apply._

**Chuck versus Fallout Girl - Chapter Two - In Vino Veritas**

* * *

Chuck pulled the Nerd Herder into his parking spot, turned off the ignition and rested his head against the steering wheel. He had dinner with his Ellie, Devon, and Sarah in just over twenty minutes and the only thing he dreaded more than the upcoming evening was a visit from a Fulcrum retrieval unit. Actually he'd probably be more relieved to see Fulcrum at this point – physical torture didn't sound half as bad as what was waiting for him. He thought about the days events and he couldn't find one thing he did right, the big goose egg.

Casey and Sarah were pissed off at him. Casey he could almost understand. He thought they'd be OK since after the mission Casey had actually thanked him for his help, a definite first, but during General Beckman's review of their after action report he was reamed royally. He can't imagine a man like Casey, who is all about honor, getting called on the carpet for disobeying orders. That had to sting, the guy was just hurting. What really got to him was Sarah.

Normally Sarah defended him, instead she just let Casey rip him a new one and then she yelled at him to leave. Later she barges into the Buy More looking far better than any woman has a right to, making his heart leap in his mouth, flirts with him outrageously, and proceeds to rip into him again because of Morgan! Yeah, he may have said something to Morgan that the little guy misinterpreted, but that wasn't grounds for a reaming out. And what was all that about her fixing their cover? She wants him to play Romeo to her Juliet when people are watching but God forbid he express any real feelings for her or expect to get any back. Hell, he knew he didn't have a right to ask her for anything, not after Jill, but that didn't mean he was going to take her crap just because she knew how weak kneed he got around her.

Morgan, now that little man was a problem. Chuck didn't know what he was going to do with his little buddy and while he loved how protective Morgan, Jeff, Lester, and Anna were of him, he had to stop this constant interfering in his life. Chuck had enough problems with Sarah, he couldn't take Morgan screwing things up even more. He finally decided he need to do some damage control. It was going to suck being him for the next few days, and he was going to have to spread the pain around, but it was up to him to get this under control. He didn't want Sarah to accuse him of being the 'weak link' again.

Chuck checked the time, 6:40 - Damn. He groaned, got out of the Nerd Herder and made his way to the apartment he shared with Ellie and Devon. The Chinese say that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. He wasn't sure about that but he knew that his sojourn into hell started in about a hundred feet.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Chuck walked up to the apartment door and stared at it. He steadied himself when and tried to put a smile on his face, as he prepared to lie his way through the next four hours when he suddenly heard a familiar voice greeting him from the bushes.

"Hey Chuck! Watcha' doin'?"

"What? Oh, hey Morgan. What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? Buddy, it's Ellie's cheesy enchilada night, I always come over for her cheesy enchiladas."

"Yeah, about that. I'm thinking that's not a such a good idea tonight."

"What? Dude that's just crazy talk. Why wouldn't be a good idea?"

"Well let's start with you running to the Orange Orange and upsetting Sarah."

"What? That? C'mon man I was just expressing a healthy interest in my best friends love life to his special lady. How could that possibly upset anyone?"

"You told her that we were broken up. You told the whole store we were broken up and that I was depressed, and then you set Jeff and Lester on me, and Anna, what the hell was up with that? Can you see why I think dinner tonight isn't a good idea?"

"Dude, C'mon Chuck. You were all mopey and down, and you were doing Lester's invoice work. I mean, you haven't been you all week, something was wrong can you blame me for wanting to help?"

"Morgan I was doing the invoices because Lester and Jeff are two months behind and Emmett is starting to complain to Big Mike about them. It's mindless work that I can do three times as fast as they do and I can sit and think while I'm doing it. Did you ever think that maybe I just wanted some down time?"

"Hey man, you can tell me. This is about Sarah isn't it. She doesn't want me having dinner with you guys tonight, right?"

"Wrong. This isn't about Sarah, Morgan. Ok, it is and it isn't. What I'm saying is, it's not Sarah who doesn't' want you over for dinner tonight. It's me."

"What are you saying Chuck?"

"I'm saying you're my best friend and I love you like a brother Morgan, but you've got to give me some space right now."

"What like an hour or two? I mean I can still come in later right? I'll use the Morgan Door."

"No. Not tonight. No Morgan door. Just go home. Go to Anna's. Go anywhere but here tonight."

"Just tell me something Chuck," Morgan dug his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "Do you love Sarah?"

"Morgan…" Chuck knew that he had to tell Morgan the truth. "Yes, I love Sarah."

"How much?"

"What?"

"How much? More than Jill? How much do you love Sarah."

"Morgan, Jill is so over I can't tell you how over her I am. I am in love with Sarah, and even if we need time to work things out right now because we're not in the same place, it doesn't matter. I'm going to do what it takes, but what I need now is for my best friend to not be here, Ok?"

"Okay man. I get it. I'll see you tomorrow at work."

Chuck watched as Morgan walked off, downcast and dejected. He let out a heavy breath and shook his head and shoulders to try and shake out the tension. Chuck told himself he'd make it up to Morgan somehow, that he'd done what he had to do. He knew Morgan was only acting out of concern but he was screwing up their cover, and part of him blamed Morgan for why Sarah was so upset with him. What he'd said had him on edge because so much of it was true. He did love Sarah, and he was willing to do what ever it took to get her to love him back. He just needed a sign from her, if only Sarah would let him know that there was something for him to fight for. Chuck reached for the handle and stepped through the doorway. 'Abandon all hope oh ye' who enter here.'

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Sarah carefully closed the window leading from Chuck's bedroom to the courtyard. The window shut with a soft click and her hand turned the lock to secure it. She had been in this room a hundred times and if you'd asked her before today she'd have said she could tell you exactly what you'd find; movie posters, DVDs, games, and an impressive collection of sci-fi and fantasy books, exactly what you'd expect to see in a the room of a self proclaimed nerd. Somehow now it all seemed different to her.

She walked carefully around the room looking at everything as if she was seeing it for the first time. It's what she saw now that surprised her, movie ticket stubs for shows from ten years ago, signed CD jackets from bands she'd never heard of, dog eared copies of Jane Austen, a picture of Ellie and him as children, another of a man she knew to be his father, a picture of them together. These things were memories, tangible elements of his past, those little bits of flotsam that Agents were taught to deny but now as she looked at them all she saw that they were the essence of him. To the untrained eye he was a nerd, but this room told the story of a man with depth, one who valued friendships, treasured family, and was in his heart a hopeless romantic.

The words he'd spoken in the courtyard to Morgan burned into her soul: '_Morgan, Jill is so over I can't tell you how over her I am. I am in love with Sarah.'_ When she heard them she felt her heart race and her head began to swim. She didn't deserve someone so good, so wonderful. The woman in her resolved to make herself worthy of him, while the Agent in her knew she would never be good enough and promised instead to protect him whatever it took. Sarah reached for the doorknob and taking one last look around the room and thought how perfectly wonderful it all was.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Chuck walked in to the apartment and immediately greeted by the sound of Ellie cooking in the kitchen and the smell of her delicious cheesy enchiladas. He nodded silently to Devon who was on the couch sucking on a Modelo, and took one as it was offered to him. Collapsing back into his favorite chair. The first sip of beer was heaven and Chuck thought that if only the rest of the night was like this, but something told him that it would all change once Sarah showed up and he had to start living the lie that was their relationship.

"Hey Bro." Devon seemed somewhat melancholy.

"Hey Devon, what's up? You sound like I feel."

"Yeah man, today was definitely not awesome."

"Why, what happened?"

"Devon missed out on a procedure today, didn't you honey?"

"It wasn't a procedure El, it was a transplant." Devon took a long drink of his beer. "Let me tell you Chuck, it's like the whole point of being a cardiothoracic surgeon and I was denied because of some peckerhead."

"He's not some peckerhead honey, he's your boss."

"That doesn't mean he's not a peckerhead Babe."

"You'll get another chance at one though, right?" Sarah had come out of Chuck's bedroom and was now sitting on the arm of his chair, a glass of wine in one hand and her free hand resting on Chuck's shoulder.

"Yeah, but this one was special." Devon tipped his beer back, "A young girl in need of a new heart, real sweet kid, the kind of patient you go into medicine for, ya' know? I mean there'll be others but losing this one was like losing the perfect surgery. Now I've got to go in there and see her and know that she's not mine. You know how not-awesome that is?"

"Strangely enough Devon, I totally get it." Chuck patted Sarah's knee and took a swig of his beer. Chuck couldn't see Sarah's reaction but Ellie did and thinking it was in relation to Devon's talk about surgery she quickly tried to change the subject.

"Alright, enough doctor talk. Sarah and Chuck don't want to hear about this, okay honey?" Ellie rested her hand on Devon's shoulder. "So how was your day today Sarah?"

"It was good, no major yogurt emergencies." Sarah managed a light airy laugh despite Chuck's previous comment. Whatever was wrong with him earlier was still bothering him, she could feel his shoulder muscles knotted under her touch, she gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, he grunted in response and drained the rest of his beer.

"Yo Chuck! Trying to catch up bro?" Devon offered him another beer and Chuck took it without question.

"You know it Dev. Cheers." Chuck took a healthy swig from the new beer.

"Ellie, do you need any help in the kitchen?"

"No thanks Sarah, we'll be ready to eat in a few minutes though so you guys get washed up."

"Chuck sweetie, you heard Ellie." Sarah gave his shoulder a hard squeeze. "let's get washed up."

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Chuck knew he was in trouble. To the uninitiated it might have sounded like an invitation to follow Sarah to the restroom. To someone who knew her moods as Chuck did, it wasn't an invitation as much as a command, a command that was subtly reinforced by the Vulcan nerve pinch she put on his shoulder. The door had no sooner close than Sarah turned on the faucets and spun on Chuck letting her back fall against the door and blocking his exit.

"Chuck, I need to know something right now," Sarah dropped all pretense of being the happy girlfriend. "Is there a problem, something going on, something you're not telling me?"

Chuck looked at Sarah, their eyes locked gazes and the intensity of her stare was such that he normally would have withered beneath it, but not tonight. He held her gaze and could see that she was upset with him but more than that she was concerned and confused. The fire dancing behind those penetrating blue eyes taunted him. He'd had enough of lies for one day.

"What did I do now? I thought I was playing the part of the boyfriend pretty well."

"Really, is that what you think? Because you sounded a little off to me."

"That's because I'm playing the part of a boyfriend who's in a fake relationship, and the beautiful woman who's playing his fake girlfriend came to his job today and ripped into him like a monkey on a cupcake for something he didn't do. Funny thing is, she still managed to make him feel like crap about it. See, it's the subtle undercurrents that really make the performance."

"So this is about this afternoon?"

"No, this is about a lot of things, this afternoon was just the icing on the cupcake."

"Look Chuck, I'm sorry about this afternoon. Morgan came into the Orange Orange in such a panic…"

"Don't worry about Morgan, I'm dealing with that problem. In fact I'm dealing with all the little problems he stirred up because of that one."

"Okay. Chuck? I'm sorry. It's just that I thought you were overreacting to the meeting this morning and so I overreacted when Morgan came in to talk to me."

"Well you don't need to apologize then."

"But you said…"

"I did say, and I didn't lie." Chuck gave her a hard look. "Look I'm not a trained agent like you or Casey. I haven't figured out how not to have any feelings yet so I have to process mine like normal people."

"That's not fair Chuck." Sarah gave him a hurt look, "Some of us do have feelings."

"You just can't let them out to play. I get it."

"Look, maybe this was a mistake. Maybe I shouldn't have come over." Sarah reached for the door and was surprised when Chuck pushed it close again.

"No. I'm sorry. It's my problem, not yours. You have to stay," Chuck's mouth suddenly went dry and he licked his lips. "Ellie looks forward to your visits and she wants you here."

"So I should stay because Ellie wants me here?"

"Well there's our cover to think of."

"Really, that's the best you can do? Well fake girlfriends can have real headaches and I'm feeling one coming on right now."

"Sarah…I want you to stay." Chuck could feel the words turn to ash in his mouth. He was angry with her, he had a right to be, and yet she could twist him around so he'd betray himself. He hated that she had that power over him.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

With those words the tension in the room transformed almost instantly from anger to anticipation. They faced each other in a physical stalemate, bodies inches apart and neither willing to move until the door began to shake from Devon's fist. Chuck's hand went to the doorknob where it found Sarah's hand still resting. The touch of her skin was a spark that electrified his entire body, and yet instead of pulling away from her he squeezed her hand hard. Chuck pulled so forcefully that she stumbled forward. Suddenly Sarah found her body pressed against Chuck's and she could feel the heat of it through her clothes. Looking into his eyes she saw the longing and fire within. Her face was less than an inch from Chuck's, and the scent of him filled her nostrils sending her head spinning. He leaned in and she prepared herself for the feel of lips that his hot breath promised. Sarah looked bewildered when, instead of kissing her, Chuck gently pushed past her and stepped out into the hall. Unfortunately for Devon she slammed the door again and spent the next several minutes composing herself before joining the party.

"Chuck? Honey is everything okay with you and Sarah? You guys seem off tonight."

"No worries El, it's not her – its' me. I had a bad day today and I've been sort of taking it out on her."

"Oh Chuck, what happened today?"

"Nothing, it's just that Morgan…look, it's nothing."

"What about Morgan? Did Morgan do something?"

"Nah, he just misinterpreted something and next thing you know Sarah thinks I'm breaking up with her."

"Oh Honey, you need to have a talk with him. Morgan has to know…"

"No problem Sis, I talked to him outside."

"He's coming to dinner? I know he's your best friend but is that really a good idea Chuck?"

"No El, he's not coming. I told him to be scarce tonight because I needed the time to be with Sarah."

"You're growing up." Sarah gave him a hug. "You know, Sarah really is special. I'm just happy you see that too are trying to work things out."

"Trust me, I know how special she is."

"How special who is? Don't tell me I have competition." Sarah smiled as she slapped Chuck on the butt hard, appreciating the look of shock on his face.

"Oh Sarah Chuck was just saying…"

"I think it's time to eat, right Ellie?" Chuck's look implored Ellie to end the conversation.

"Right, ok everyone lets eat."

"Awesome. Everyone got their drinks. Chuck another beer?" Devon topped of the ladies wine and handed Chuck another Modelo.

The dinner was charmingly uneventful, and even though Devon failed to put the events of the day behind him as the evening wore on Chuck found himself genuinely happy in Sarah's company. Maybe the scene in the bathroom had been what they needed. All Chuck knew was that it felt less like a lie now. Sarah played the part of loving girlfriend to the hilt, even letting him feed her a forkful of his own cheesy enchilada.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

That night there were no movies or games, instead for several hours the alcohol flowed, music was played, and a bottle of Tequila joined the party. Ellie and Sarah were relaxing on the couch, both pleasantly drunk. Devon and Chuck sat on the floor in front them, Chuck had absently placed his arm on Sarah's leg like an armrest, while Devon occasionally found himself struggling to stay upright as Ellie kept trying to use his shoulders as a foot rest. To the casual observer the scene was one of two happy couples sharing a simple night of friendship.

_'High-maintenance' means _

_You're a gluttonous queen_

_Narcissistic and mean._

"Awesome song, ha-ha *hic* ha" Ellie devolved to giggling inanely as she tried to sing along with Ludo's _Love me Dead_.

"Seriously Chuck, you don't know what it's like to lose the prefect surgery because of some peckerhead. It's like, it's like, *burp* it's like imagine if Sarah was there but just out of reach? I mean you could see her but not touch her, she could never be yours. I mean how much would that suck?"

"Totally not awesome, Dev."

_She moves through moonbeams slowly_

_She knows just how to hold me_

_And when her edges soften_

"Exactly Bro!" Devon put an arm around Chuck's shoulders and smiled. "Dude it's so awesome having you for a brother, you know? I mean, you totally get me and, and that means…"

"SHOTS!" Devon and Chuck shouted simultaneously as Devon poured four shots of tequila. Everyone but Ellie managed to slam theirs down. When it became clear Ellie wouldn't make it Chuck and Devon watched as Sarah took it away from her and threw it down as well. "Now that's what I'm talking about man! Sarah can hold her booze Chuck, she's a keeper dude."

_Her body is my coffin_

_I know she drains me slowly_

_She wears me down to bones in bed_

"Thanks Dev. I want to keep her." Chuck smiled at Devon as he unconsciously rubbed her leg. His gaze shifted to Sarah who smiled and began tussling his hair with her free hand. "What do you say Sarah, hang around and be mine?"

"Your drunk Chuck." Sarah's hand fell from his head and she flicked his nose with her fingertip, smiling a hazy smile. "I hate this song."

"Is that a yes or a no?" Chuck was drunk, he had to admit, but that wasn't an answer. He leaned forward to hit shuffle and change songs, then looked at Sarah expectantly.

"You had me at ballerina." Sarah smiles at Chuck who realizes that she is far more inebriated than she appears.

"I don *hic* don *hic* don't get it?" Ellie giggled relentlessly.

"The first time I met Chuck there was this man with his little girl, and she was a ballerina." Sarah's hand slid down Chuck's forearm. "He forgot to put the tape in his video camera and Chuck arranged for her to do her entire recital right there in the store." Sarah beamed a smile at Chuck and then turned to Ellie "He told her real ballerina's are tall."

"That's s-so sweet," Ellie smiled at Sarah, "Why are real ballerina's tall?"

"She was tall and her teacher made her stand at the back of the class so she wouldn't block the other girls." Chuck said, gazing wonderingly at Sarah. "So I told her that real ballerina's are tall."

"It was the sweetest thing I'd ever seen." Sarah patted his arm. "So I thought I've got to find out if he's for real."

"Is he?"

"Yeah, am I?"

"More real that I ever thought possible." Sarah leaned in and kissed Chuck then. It was a simple kiss but their lips lingered and a flush crept up her neck and began to color her cheeks.

"Ok Babe, I think it's time we give Sarah and Chuck here their privacy." Devon helped Ellie up from the couch.

"But I want to st-*hic* st-*hic* stay!"

"Nightie-night Sis."

"Night Ellie, Night Awesome"

"You guys be good, or at least be careful."

Devon helped Ellie down the hall toward their bedroom leaving Chuck and Sarah alone as the music played. He'd turned sideways so he was more or less facing her, his left hand resting on her right thigh and his back against her leg. Sarah was leaning back in the couch, one hand found Chuck's arm and was lazily stroking it while the other held a glass of wine. Chuck felt like he could stay this way forever, when the CD shuffled and the song _Topeka_ song came on.

_You've been known to obsess over the future_

_Do you think you'll get away from the past?_

"Sarah, I think it's time for bed."

"I bet you do." She smiled a drunken, wanton smile at Chuck, "Poor Chuck. I am such a bitch to you sometimes. Why do you put up with me?"

_Consider what you might have found._

_You think you've got a good thing now._

"You're not that bad Sarah," he rubbed her leg and smiled back. "In fact I'd put up with almost anything just to keep you around."

"You're too good for me" Her smile faded as she spoke.

"No, I'm not."

"Yes! You are!" Sarah pushed him back hard and stood up from the couch taking a few unsteady steps toward the front door. She swayed losing her balance, nearly falling until Chuck grabbed her arms to steady her. "My savior."

Chuck turned her around and looked at Sarah and was shocked at the transformation. Gone was the happy, wantonly sexy goddess of the couch who mocked him. Now she was frightened and vulnerable girl with eyes swollen by tears that had yet to fall.

_Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future_

_So you know it keeps me hanging around._

_No, you can't keep a good man down._

"What did you say?"

"My savior. You saved me." Sarah choked on the words as her voice started to break, she couldn't look at him anymore. "You keep trying to save me, and I can't be saved. I'm not worth saving."

"Don't say that." Chuck shook her, forcing her to look at him. "Listen to me Sarah Walker, your past is just that. None of that matters to me. You matter to me. I know everything I need to know about you to want to be with you."

_Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future,_

_Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future,_

_Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future..._

She fell into his arms, the tears on her face staining his shoulder. He held her in his arms and as her gentle crying became body wracking sobs his grip on her tightened. Through the alcoholic haze Chuck became acutely aware of every part of Sarah's body, her head against his cheek, her arms around his chest, her hands grasping his shoulders, her face buried in his neck, her tears on his skin. They stood like statues, the only sounds were of her sobs mingling with the music, until suddenly Sarah stopped and pushed back from Chuck. He knew before she said anything what was wrong, the green caste on her face was a dead giveaway.

"I'm going to be sick.

He rushed her down the hallway to the bathroom, and caught her as she fell before the toilet. Holding her hair back he rubbed her back gently as she emptied her stomach again and again into the toilet bowl.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

When Chuck was sure there was simply nothing left for Sarah to throw up he helped her up, turned on the water and began to clean her up. Chuck looked at her in the mirror, still beautiful despite how sick she was, he thought Sarah acted more like a docile child than a trained CIA assassin. She letting him wipe her face clean and help her brush her teeth. She quietly accepted the aspirin he offered and drank the water down. There was no protest as he steered her toward the bedroom and fetched a clean T-shirt and a pair of boxers for her to sleep in out of his dresser. Only when he started to leave the bedroom did she react.

"Chuck, don't leave me. I need you" Sarah looked at him with such fear and longing his heart almost broke.

"Sarah, I'll be right back. I'm just getting something from the kitchen, okay?" She smiled wanly and he left as quickly as he could.

Minutes later when Chuck returned with his supplies and he noticed that Sarah hadn't moved at all, in fact she hadn't changed. The clothes he left for her were still on the bed. Without a word he set the trashcan next to her side of the bed. He put a fresh glass of water on the night stand and a few more aspirin next to it, a bowl of ice with a single bottle of ginger ale in it rested there as well with a damp washcloth. He went to her and knelt down so he could look into her eyes.

"Sarah?" Chuck smiled as he could see her eyes come into focus. "Sarah can you get changed? It's time for bed now."

She said nothing but with Chuck's help stood up and began to strip right there. Chuck turned away from her as she changed only to catch the sight of her creamy white skin in his mirror. After several agonizing minutes she was ready for sleep and Chuck helped her into bed. He brushed away the hair from her face and placed the damp cloth on her forehead before turning out the lights. In the darkness he lay next to her, staring at the ceiling.

"Chuck" Sarah's voice was quiet, almost fearful.

"Yes Sarah?"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, you had too much to drink. It happens."

"No. I'm sorry I can't be who you need me to be."

"Sarah, you don't have to…"

"I want to be." Sarah's voice was choked with emotion. "I just can't."

"Sarah, please."

"You deserve someone who can tell you what you mean to them." He could tell she was starting to cry again. "I want to be her, I just don't know how."

"Shhh. It's okay, I know it's hard." Chuck placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. She grabbed it and pulled until his arm lay across her stomach. "Sarah?"

"Please? Hold me?"

The voice that escaped her lips was pleading, and Chuck felt a shudder run through her body. He realized that she was hurting and scared, he needed to comfort her. Chuck moved closer until his chest rested against her back, she snuggled into him until one arm supported her head and the other was wrapped securely around her waist. In just moments Chuck became aware of the rhythm of Sarah's regular breathing, he smiled at the thought of her asleep in his arms, and he too drifted off peacefully.

* * *

_A/N: This is my first fanfic and of course feedback is always welcome, the more specific the better. Thanks!_


	3. Chapter 3: The Morning After

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own nor am I involved with the production of _Chuck._ On the plus side, I work cheap so if Zach is reading this - call me.

Synopsis: A night of drink brings out the truth in their relationship, but can it survive the morning after? Sarah struggles to put the walls back up around her heart and she tells herself it's for Chuck's benefit, but who's she really prtotecting? And Casey makes a shocking discovery that could tear the team apart, the only one who knows for sure what will happen is Chuck.

_A/N: Adult Language and situations apply._

**Chuck versus Fallout Girl - Chapter Three - The Morning After**

* * *

Sarah awoke to a pain in her head that she was sure she'd last felt after being exposed to a particularly nasty neurotoxin. A radio DJ pronounced the time as 'seven-oh-one in the AAA-Emm!' and she contemplated assassinating him on principle. She tried to open her eyes and saw nothing but white. Distraught at the thought of going blind she slowly became aware that something was covering her face. With some care Sarah untangled her hand from Chuck's and put it to her head where she felt the damp washcloth covering her forehead and eyes. She was just about to remove it when something broke through the haze: She'd had to let go of Chuck's hand! Swallowing her panic she let her hand go down to her stomach and she felt his strong arm holding her closely. She breathed deeply to calm herself and became aware of him. The heat of his body radiated through her, the beat of his heart was comforting her, his arm was her pillow. _'Oh shit', she thought, 'what the hell have I done?'_ She thought hard, she could remember nothing, what had she said? Done? Panicked she tried to sit upright and her world suddenly went away to be replaced by blinding pain.

"How are we feeling?"

"Like shit." _How long had he been awake_?

"No wonder, I've never seen anyone mix wine, beer, and tequila before. It was pretty impressive until the ick factor kicked in."

"I got sick?"

"No, you were ill. Sick is a momentary event, this went on for some time." Chuck carefully disengaged from her, he sensed rather than knew that she was worried about what had happened last night. No point in making things worse.

"Chuck? Where are you going?" The words were out before she could stop herself. She had no idea why she said it, but now that he'd gotten up she missed the warmth of his body, his touch. She needed to leave before something happened that couldn't be blamed on the booze.

"Relax Sarah, I'm not going anywhere." Chuck looked down and was stunned at how beautiful she was. No one should look this good after a night like that. "Here, drink this. Slowly, it'll make you feel better."

"What is it?" Sara felt a cold bottle in her hand, the light still bothered her too much to open her eyes.

"Ginger ale, you're stomach is probably a little dodgy right now. That should help."

"Thanks."

"No problem." Chuck smiled as he put her things at the foot of the bed. "There are aspirin on the edge of the nightstand, and a glass of water too."

"Thanks, I'll stick with the ginger ale." Sarah felt for the aspirin and found them where he said they'd be, gulping them down she took another sip of her ginger ale.

"You can open your eyes now, I made it a little more hangover friendly."

Sarah opened her eyes and was greeted by a darkened room. The curtains were drawn and the lights were off. The only light was what filtered in from outside. Her eyes adjusted to the shadowless light that filled the room and she realized that Chuck was gone. Again a sense of panic filled her until the door swung open.

"Okay, I know you're probably not hungry but you need to eat something or you'll feel pukey all day. I have some orange juice and some dry toast, and there's a little strawberry jam for it if you're feeling crazy." Chuck handed the plate to her. "Oh, and your clothes are at the foot of the bed. I'll go get some breakfast if you want to grab a shower while Ellie and Awesome are still in bed."

"My clothes?" Sarah suddenly looked down and realized she was wearing one of Chuck's T-shirts and a pair of his boxers. "How did I get undressed?"

"Well, I sort of had to help." Chuck saw the look of horror on her face. "No! No! Nothing like that, I just helped you stand up and you got in and out all by yourself, mostly. Seriously, I would never…"

"I know." Sarah finally smiled. He wouldn't take advantage of her, ever. That wasn't who he was, that's why he was so dangerous to her. She could really love him if she let herself, and at times like this that seemed like the thing to do. "I, uh, think I'll get dressed. No senses in taking a shower if I'm going to put on dirty clothes."

"Oh they aren't dirty. I washed them for you, fresh out of the dryer even." Chuck smiled.

"You didn't have to do that."

"It was no problem, I had to wash the other T-shirts anyway."

"Other T-shirts?" Sarah realized what that meant.

"Yeah, the first two I gave you to wear, well you got a little sick in the middle of the night." Chuck saw the look on her face and quickly added. "But don't worry, no damage done."

"Okay, well then I'm going to take a shower and maybe try and wash the stench of embarrassment off."

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Sarah wiped the steam from the mirror and shook her hair out. She took a long hard look at the face staring back at her. She was a trained CIA agent and she'd broken almost every rule concerning a handler and her asset. She'd let herself become incapacitated by alcohol while with him, she'd put them in a compromising situation, and she had to admit she'd let her feelings for her Chuck cloud her judgment. 'Damnit!' she swore under her breath. She had to stop thinking of him as 'her Chuck', he was an asset, she was his handler, she had to maintain distance or risk being reassigned and losing him. She blanched at the thought, she'd probably already lost him.

Casey was sure to have taped everything last night. He wasn't supposed to – rules aside professional courtesy dictated that when a handler and asset were maintaining cover there was no need for secondary surveillance, but John Casey wasn't one to stand on courtesy. She thought long and hard, she might be able to bullshit her way through some of it, explain away the drunken behavior. After all she had anti-alcohol meds in her personal stash. But that wasn't the problem was it? The problem wasn't what she remembered, it's what she didn't. How could she explain what went on in the bedroom when she didn't even know herself what had happened there?

Suddenly it felt as if a weight was lifted, it was over. There was nothing that she could do to change what happened last night, and knowing Casey had tapes of her escapades she was sure to be reassigned. She was resigned to her fate. She might as well accept the fact that it was over. She'd lost the best assignment she'd ever had, the best man she'd ever known, and now she had to deal with the fallout. She owed it to Chuck to make sure he was safe, after everything she'd done to him she owed him that much.

Sarah walked out of the bathroom with a light step. Accepting fate was almost liberating, she had nothing left to lose since she'd lost it all already. She smiled at the thought of Casey springing his trap and her not reacting the way he expected. He was an emotional sadist and her not showing shock or pain was really going to ruin Casey's day. She heard noise in the kitchen and saw Devon shuffling around looking a little the worse for wear. Chuck smiled at her as he looked up from the newspaper, he motioned for her to sit down next to him.

"Feeling better?"

"Mmm, Much." His goofy grin lit up her heart, she leaned over and kissed him. "Thanks for last night."

"Uh, thanks. Anytime." He smiled at her then leaned in and spoke quietly. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Never better" She whispered back and kissed him again.

"Okay. Well then I'm going to take a shower and get ready for work." Chuck jumped as he felt Sarah's hand smack him playfully on the thigh as he got up.

Sarah watched Chuck's back as he walked away. Her only regret now is that she'd never been with him, but she pushed it out of her mind. She knew he loved her, she remembered the conversation he'd had with Morgan. Even if she let herself love him back the way she wanted to it would be too cruel to him now, too cruel for both of them. She became aware of Devon saying something.

"I'm sorry Devon, I didn't catch that?" She saw the look of amusement on his face and was suddenly worried.

"I said have you thought about getting an apartment yet?" Devon chewed a mouthful of cornflakes with a large grin.

"No, I don't think we're ready to move in together yet?"

"Really, I don't know. You two have it bad enough, I'm surprised you haven't talked about it."

"Well we're taking it slow, I mean, we don't want to rush." The lie tasted foul in her mouth.

"Slow? Whatever." Devon's next spoonful of cereal stopped halfway to his mouth. "All I'm saying is that when a guy is willing to stay up all night taking care of his girlfriend and she's not in a position to take care of him back, that's love. No need to go slow when you're in love."

"Chuck was up all night?"

"Yep." Devon chewed through the cornflakes. "I heard him while I was up with Ellie." He smiled at Sarah, "It's what a man in love does Sarah. Actually it was pretty awesome."

"Well Chuck is an awesome guy. Excuse me Devon, I've got to get ready for work."

Sarah could barely keep from crying. He was too good to be true. She gets drunk and he won't take advantage of her. She gets sick and he takes care of her. She treats him like dirt and he still loves her. She had to fix this. Maybe she'd been wrong before, maybe nothing happened at all, maybe she could bullshit her way past Casey. _'Fuck all' she thought, 'maybe pigs flew jets.'_ She knew it was hopeless, but she had to try. She couldn't leave him now, maybe she couldn't love him the way he deserved to be loved but if she was still his handler at least she could be near him. Something inside her said It would be cruel to him if she stayed, and yet another part said it would be harder on them both to leave now. She went into Chuck's bedroom and started getting ready.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Sarah spotted Casey at a console as she walked down the stairs of the Castle. She hadn't yet made up her mind how she was going to handle the upcoming confrontation, she was certain he'd have evidence that she'd compromised herself with Chuck last night and as much as she liked to think they had a good partnership she knew he'd report it up the chain because Casey was a straight arrow. She decided to play it cool, it was early enough that Casey couldn't have gotten through last nights dump yet, time to put on her game face. With each step she locked down her emotions more and more until she was all but a robot.

"So Casey, anything interesting in your last night's batch?"

"Huh. Didn't expect to see you looking so chipper after everything that went on."

"Why, what happened?"

"Get so drunk you can't remember Walker? Bad form."

"I don't know what you mean Casey. Did I drink, sure. Incapacitate myself? No."

"Really, then what's this?"

Casey hit a key and the screen split into four views, each showing a different time stamped recording of the previous nights festivities. Sarah saw for the first time how much she really did drink. It's amazing she didn't get alcohol poisoning.

"I think what you're showing me is Chuck with me at Ellie and Devon's where we had dinner then talked over drinks. Was this supposed to be particularly damning in some way?"

"Walker, you're pie eyed. I counted no fewer than eight glasses of wine, three beers and seven shots of Tequila. Tell me you weren't incapacitated."

"I wasn't incapacitated." She smiled, "I was using Roh-15."

"You're kidding." Casey snarled.

"Nope."

"Then you're lying. You don't have access to Roh-15, it's not agency approved."

"Its not NSA approved you mean. I was requisitioned some on a previous mission. I have, or had, two doses in my possession. I took one last night when I realized that there would be heavy drinking involved."

"Then explain this." Casey hits a button that shows Chuck comforting her, then rushing her to the bathroom.

"Yeah, unfortunately Roh-15 makes my stomach touchy and Ellie's enchiladas were not what the doctor ordered."

"And the theatrics before that?"

"Disorientation and shakes, side effects of the drug sometimes. Chuck was trying to help me."

"Is that all he was trying to do?" Casey sneered.

"What are you implying Casey?" Sarah couldn't believe she had managed to pull it off so far, so she kept pushing her luck.

"Nothing, but I'm betting when we look at the bedroom footage there'll be no reason for my to imply anything. Let's see what happens when we fast forward shall we?"

Sarah sucked in her breath and waited for the axe to fall. Luckily only Bryce Larkin knew she was allergic to Roh-15. If she'd actually ingested it she'd have gone into anaphylactic shock, not just gotten sick to her stomach. Bullshit got her this far, now she was up against the tape. Unfortunately she couldn't remember what happened so there was no way for her to explain anything that happened in the bedroom. Then she saw the playback and smiled. _'There is a God'_ Sarah thought. The image playback was so distorted that she could only vaguely make out some sort of activity, but no way you could tell what anyone was doing, or even who they were.

"Problem John?"

"What did you do Walker?"

"Me? Not a thing. I swear."

"Right, like I'm supposed to believe that."

"I'll take the chair if it makes you happy."

"Yeah, well I'm sure audio will at least be interesting." Casey punched a few keys and brought up the audio playback but he was not please.

'…_You're saying Sarah would take a roast beef sandwich to a deserted island? That's insane.'_

"What the Hell?!"

Casey gave Sarah a hard stare but noticed she was just as shocked as he was. He turned back to the console and began tweaking the audio feeds.

"That can't be right Casey, Morgan wasn't even there last night. Chuck made him stay away."

"Bartowski kicked the runt to the curb? Huh, that's not like him."

"Don't tell me Morgan is growing on you Casey."

"No, it's just that despite the crap I give him, most of which is well deserved, he does have a few admirable traits. His loyalty to his friends is chief among them. Why'd he give Morgan the boot anyway?"

"I don't know, something going on at work I think."

Casey spent the next twenty minutes reviewing the audio and video surveillance from Chuck's and as he did his cursing became louder. Sarah took this opportunity to review last nights activities in the living room. She watched the very beginning, Chuck was so hostile toward her at first. Everything she did seemed to make him angry, he seemed to resent her mere presence. Had she really been that horrible to him yesterday? She reviewed the audio of their conversation from the bathroom and parts of it leapt out at her.

"…_the beautiful woman who's playing his fake girlfriend came to his job today and ripped into him like a monkey on a cupcake for something he didn't do. Funny thing is, she still managed to make him feel like crap about it…_"

…

"_Don't worry about Morgan, I'm dealing with that problem. In fact I'm dealing with all the little problems he stirred up because of that one._"

…

"_Really, that's the best you can do? Well fake girlfriends can have real headaches and I'm feeling one coming on now._"

"_Sarah…I want you to stay._"

'My God' she thought, 'I really was horrible to him yesterday. Casey was right, Chuck's loyalty was one of his most admirable traits and yet he was willing to push Morgan away for her. How did she repay him? She manipulated him into telling her what she wanted to hear, that he wanted her to stay. How could he possibly say he loves her?'

Sarah fast forwarded through dinner. She watched the change in Chuck at high speed, he started out sullen but as she showed more open affection he warmed to her. Why? She couldn't understand why he was so forgiving. She continued to fast forward through the evening, and she saw the two of them – her on the couch, him on the floor in front of her, resting his arm on one of her legs. They looked like such a natural couple, and suddenly she slowed down the video.

"_What do you say Sarah, hang around and be mine?_"

"_Your drunk Chuck._"

"_Is that a yes or a no?_"

"_You had me at ballerina._"

….

"…_there was this man with his little girl, and she was a ballerina. He forgot to put the tape in his video camera and Chuck arranged for her to do her entire recital right there in the store. He told her real ballerina's are tall._"

Sarah could feel her internal control weakening. She recalled that time when she first met him, the little girl looking adorable in her pink tutu and toe shoes, the distraught father, Chuck trying desperately to impress her but finally walking away to help the little girl. That was so like him, ask him to choose between getting a date with a beautiful woman and helping a child in need and the woman will lose every time. That's why she loved him, it's why she'd always loved him. She knew that now. He was everything she wasn't, he was good and kind and decent. Sarah could feel the mask slipping, she had to do something because she couldn't take this anymore. Sarah killed the playback, took a deep breath and clenched her fist as hard as she could. After several seconds she opened her eyes, control established once again. She walked toward Casey.

"Any luck?"

"Nope. The feeds were compromised at the source, whoever did this had access to Bartowski's room. Anything you want to say now Agent Walker?"

"Just what I've said before, I had nothing to do with this and I'll submit to the chair if you want me to."

"That's what I thought. That means there's only one other possibility," Casey looked at her. "Call Bartowski in here. We need to find out how he did what he did and why."

"Chuck? But how?" Sarah looked over Casey's shoulder studying the results herself.

"That's what we need to know Walker. If you didn't do it, then either he did or someone else broke in, managed to avoid all the other surveillance in the process and leave without alerting either of us."

"I'll go talk to Chuck."

Sarah turned and walked up the stairs of the Castle, Casey switched to surveillance mode and watched her walk out of the Orange Orange to Buy More. He looked back at the console and something caught his eye, a few spots of blood on the table top right where Walker had rested her hand. It was an old trick he knew, using physical discomfort to maintain emotional control. Casey made a mental note to do a detailed revue of the feeds from seven that evening on. Something got her hot and bothered, and he wanted to know what it was.

* * *

_A/N: This is my first fanfic and of course feedback is always welcome, the more specific the better. Thanks!_


	4. Chapter 4: Truth, Lies, and Video Tape

Chuck versus Fallout Girl

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own nor am I involved with the production of _Chuck._ On the plus side, I work cheap so if Zach is reading this - call me.

Synopsis: Sarah managed to BS her way through Casey's interrogation about her drunken night with Chuck, but only because the surveillance was compromised. Casey suspects Chuck of somehow disabling the bugs in his room, but nether agents knows if he's really capable of something so devious. If Chuck did disable the surveillance, how will they explain that to Casey? What will happen to Chuck?

_A/N: Adult Language and situations apply._

**Chuck versus Fallout Girl - Chapter Four – Truth, Lies, and Videotape**

* * *

Sarah walked to the Buy More feeling both relieved and confused. The surveillance on Chuck's room had obviously been compromised, and even though she benefitted from it they had to figure out who and how. Casey suspected Chuck, but she couldn't believe it. She knew he was smart, but was he that smart? Had she been underestimating him all along? Why would he do it anyway? Surely he couldn't have planned last night, could he? Sarah shook her head, devious was not Chuck's strong suit. If he did find a way to compromise his surveillance they had to know how and why. She saw him at the Nerd Herd desk and put on her best happy girlfriend face.

"Hey Sweetie!" Sarah leans across the desk and gives him a quick peck on the cheek. "Have a few minutes?"

"Sure thing honeybunch." Chuck gives her an awkward smile and leads her over to the media room.

"Honeybunch?" Sarah gives him a quizzical look.

"Too hokey? I'm trying something new. You always call me sweetie or sweetie pie, something in the sweetie family. Anyway I thought I should come up with a name for you."

"Chuck, I appreciate your commitment but, maybe we can just stick with Sarah, ok?"

"That's a no on honeybunch, then? Right. So what's up, something big?"

"Well a couple of things. First we've got a doctor's appointment this afternoon, don't worry I'll take you for it."

"A doctor's appointment? For what? What kind of doctor? I'm actually feeling pretty good, just a little tired."

"Chuck, relax. It's a routine checkup with a CIA doctor."

"Routine? What kind of routine?"

"His name is Dr West, he's a neurologist and he'll be doing routine examination for us."

"By us, you mean you and me, or the CIA?"

"Don't worry Chuck, it's routine procedure for CIA personnel to get check-ups every so often. He doesn't know you're the Intersect they just feel you should have a thorough checkup."

"Okay, you keep saying the word 'routine' but you can understand my feelings of, well terror, after the last doctor you guys took me too."

"Yes, but I'll be with you the entire time."

"The entire time in the waiting room or the entire time? Because if there's a turn your head and cough moment…"

"I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself there." Sarah tilts her head and gives him an engaging smile. "Seriously, it shouldn't be anything to worry about."

"Ok, you said there were a couple of things, so doctor's appointment and what else?"

"Well I also wanted to apologize for yesterday. I may have overreacted when Morgan came to see me. I know this hasn't been the easiest couple of weeks for you, and I should have tried to be more understanding."

"Sarah, no, it's just that I haven't been doing anything right lately, I mean I think I'm helping but I just seem to cause more problems. I totally get why you were upset it's just, I guess I was angry with myself for not being better at my job."

"Chuck, don't always put yourself down. You're a pretty amazing guy and you're very good at your job. Plus your smart, I mean not many people I know would have thought to freeze the handcuff chain to break free. And you're a good friend, loyal to the people you care about. That's important and I don't want you to forget it, okay?"

"I guess I just never think of it that way. I mean compared to what you and Casey have to do, what I do seems sort of trivial sometimes."

"Remember what I said at Thanksgiving?" Sarah took his hands in hers, "We're better together. I meant that Chuck, we are better as a team. Casey and I couldn't do our job without you."

"And without you guys taking care of me I'd have the life expectancy of a cheese Danish around Big Mike."

"Speaking of taking care of people," Sarah's lets her eyes drop away from his for a moment. "well, you took care of me last night, and this morning, and I really wanted to say thank you. It's not often I'm in a position where I need someone to be there for me and it's nice to know I can depend on you."

"Anytime you need someone Sarah, I'll be there for you." Chuck felt suddenly exposed, holding Sarah's hands and sharing his feelings so openly, he quickly changed topics. "Say, Speaking of Casey, where is the big guy?"

"Oh, Casey, right that's the other thing. The surveillance on your room was compromised last night, and Casey wants to talk to you about it." Sarah studies his face for any sign of indication that he knew about it.

"Yeah, about that…"

"You?" Sarah's face shows her surprise and concern. "Chuck what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that I didn't want Casey listening in. It seemed like a good idea last night, given your condition and all."

"My condition was my problem. You compromised your own security for me, do you realize how dangerous that was? Do you think I could forgive myself if something happened to you because of me?"

"Sarah, not thirty seconds ago you were thanking me for taking care of you. Now you're upset that I tried to protect you? You see my problem here right?"

"Chuck, you have to promise me that you won't do that again." She can see the resistance in Chuck's face. "Promise me or I'll ask General Beckman to reassign me today and I'll be out of your life forever."

"Sarah…"

"Chuck, promise"

"I promise you, I won't do it again." Chuck tried hard trying not to look defeated.

"Good, now the hard part is going to be explaining this to Casey."

"Sarah, let me do it. You had nothing to do with it, and it was all my idea. Let me take the heat on this one." His face hardened as he spoke.

"I don't know."

"Look the damage is done, just let me do this my way. I'm a big boy Sarah and I can handle it. Just tell Casey I'll see him at Lunch and we'll cover it then."

"Ok big boy, I just hope you know what you're doing."

"Sarah, just trust me."

"I always do." Sarah whispered as she walked away.

Chuck wondered at Sarah's attitude change since this morning. Once she got over the initial shock of waking up in his room she seemed to be happier than he'd seen her in a long time. Devon told him about the long look he'd gotten walking to the shower, and what they'd talked about. Now she was all business, even her apology seemed rehearsed and restrained. It's as if he was dealing with Sarah Walker this morning and Agent Walker now. His mind suddenly harkened back to something Carina had said, that agents shed identities like other people shed clothes, and they never letting anyone get close to them. Was this morning's Sarah a convenient identity or the real deal? He wished he knew, but there was no time for that now, he had to go to work.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Morgan watched as Sarah and Chuck went into the media room and here she was walking out looking concerned. About what he didn't know, but it bothered Morgan. He wanted to like Sarah, he did, she was definitely a hottie and she seemed to like Chuck, but he wasn't sure she really made him happy. Then there was the lack of Morgan time, Chuck had never pushed him away before, not even over Jill, but last night Chuck had actually kicked him out before he even got in. That was a precedent he didn't want to let stand.

"Hey Chuck."

"Morgan, hey little buddy, what's up?"

"I just wanted to say, you know, hey."

"Morgan, are you okay?"

"I'm more worried about us, are we okay – that's what I want to know."

"Yeah, look about last night. I'm sorry Morgan, it was just one of those things but it really is sort of good you weren't there because we got a lot worked out."

"So things went well? You and Sarah are good? Because she didn't look real good when she left here."

"Oh that, yeah don't worry about that we've got a doctor's appointment this afternoon. She's probably just a little concerned about that. Nope I guarantee things went well, we're good. Sarah and me, we're...good." Chuck's face had a faint smile as he said those last words.

"Really, well that's awesome man! Hey, congratulations on that, you know, you and Sarah being good thing. Now, uh, I think Uncle Morgan spies his little Anna doll and needs to do his thang if you know what I mean."

Chuck watched Morgan skip off to see Anna and as he watched him go he couldn't help but wonder what went through his mind sometimes. He shook his head and started organizing the schedule for the rest of the day, somehow he knew it was going to get ugly once he talked to Casey.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Morgan scampered up to Anna and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, then spotting Jeff and Lester he gave them each a head bob. Anna tried to ignore him but the energy that he gave off was a combination of nervous excitement and good news.

"Get lost Morgan."

"Anna honey, I've got big news."

"You've finally learned that using a coupon to pay your half of the bill doesn't qualify as taking me out to dinner?"

"What? That's just crazy talk -everyone knows coupons are money. No, this is bigger than that, in fact its huge."

"What's huge?" Lester and Jeff asked in unison.

"Chuck and Sarah are pregnant."

"Get out!" "No Way!" "Dude" All three reacted at once to the news.

"Seriously, she's pregnant. I was talking to Chuck and I asked him, you know, how things were going between them and he says they're doing good and oh yea, 'we've got a doctor's appointment this afternoon'. 'we have' 'we'."

"I don't get it." Jeff looks at Lester for confirmation.

"Yeah, I'm not seeing how that means their pregnant." Lester nods to Jeff in agreement.

"I will ask our resident expert." Morgan turns to Anna, "Anna, honey, is there any type of doctor's appointment you'd actually want me to take you, let alone one that I would refer to as 'we' when referencing said appointment?"

"No. Morgan's right. Women don't want men going with them to their doctor's appointments unless it's something big." Anna nodded.

"So now it all makes sense, it wasn't fallout girl it's more like baby girl, or maybe baby boy." Morgan sniffed dramatically, "Our Charles is growing up so fast."

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Chuck walked into the Orange Orange and waved at Sarah who was busy helping customers. He sat quietly waiting until she was free to join him. When Sarah finally sat down she seemed exhausted.

"Busy huh?"

"Yeah, it's been getting busier and busier lately. We may have to requisition more help if this keeps up."

"So how does that work, do you get like, CIA summer interns to come out and do this or are we talking full fledged agents like yourself?"

"Well it has to be someone that works for the company fulltime, but it'd be a support position so they'd probably send a junior level analyst or maybe an agent in training from the farm."

"The farm? The CIA has it's own dairy?" Chuck can tell she's more relaxed now that she was earlier.

"No" Sarah can't help but smile. "The farm is what we call our training facility. It's where we train agents and analysts."

"Ahh, so we aren't talking someone who's intimate with the milking of cows, which is really kind of sad. I was getting sort of psyched wondering what a cow had to do to get clearance for a CIA farm."

"You're hopeless, you know that don't you?" Sarah's smile seemed to light up the room.

"So they tell me."

"Well, Casey is waiting for you. You're a big boy, so this is your show. I'm going to stay up here unless you want me to go down with you."

"Nah, I have to grow up sometime."

Sarah watched him walk away, the big goofy grin on his face that made her smile even though she knew she shouldn't. She got up and flipped the 'closed' sign on the door and went behind the counter to access the remote viewing screen for the Castle. Chuck had asked her to trust him, and she did, but Casey was another story.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Chuck sat down in the chair opposite Casey. Sensors strapped to his chest, head, and wrists. Casey acted like he didn't really care for him all that much but sometimes Chuck could detect cracks in the armor indicating that the big guy really did like him. This wasn't one of those times. Casey's had his scary game face on, and he was obviously looking forward to this.

"Comfy Bartowski?"

"Absolutely Casey, I was thinking of getting a new recliner, do they make these with leather upholstery?"

"Funny man. Let's see how funny you think this is." Casey activated the machine.

"Did you disable the surveillance in your room last night?"

"Yes" [POSITIVE]

"Was Agent Walker aware that you disabled the surveillance in your room?"

"No" [POSITIVE]

"Was Agent Walker incapacitated last night?"

"No" [POSITIVE]

"Was Agent Walker drinking last night?"

"Yes" [POSITIVE]

"Was Agent Walker drunk last night?"

"No" [NEGATIVE]

"Huh, care to change your answer Bartowski?"

"Ok, she was drunk. Big deal Casey, she wasn't any worse than you were when we went after Ilsa."

"Keep your answers to a yes or now Bartowski: "Was Agent Walker drunk last night?"

"Yes" [POSITIVE]

"Did you have sex with Agent Walker last night?"

"Screw you Casey."

"Answer the question Bartowski: Did you have sex with Agent Walker last night?"

"No." [POSITIVE]

"What's wrong Bartowski, you've been sniffing around Walker for the last fourteen months, can't get it up?"

"Are you getting off on this Casey?" Chuck stood up and started to pull the sensor's off. "I mean is this how you pictured serving the greater good, dumpster diving through my personal life?"

"Sit down Bartowski, we're not done here'

"That's where you're wrong Casey, I'm done." He took off the last sensor and threw it at the chair only to have Casey grab his arm and clamp down hard.

"I said we're not done here so SIT DOWN Bartowski."

Casey pushed him backwards roughly aiming for the chair but Chuck tripped. He grabbed at the chair's arm trying to stop his fall but succeeded only in bouncing his head off the floor. Chuck felt the back of his head gingerly as a moan escaped his lips. Casey leaned forward to help him up but he pulled away.

"So let me guess Casey, this is where you try and beat an answer out of me?"

"Are you hurt Bartowski?"

"You mean is the Intersect hurt? I don't know." Chuck saw a blond vision coming to his rescue. "Me? I'm going to have one hell of a headache."

"CASEY! Stand down." Sarah pulled Casey away from Chuck and knelt by his side. "Are you okay Chuck?"

"I'm fine. Just let me up." He struggled up with Sarah's help.

"We're not through here Walker, get Bartowski back in the chair."

"No Casey, we are done here. When you start man handling Chuck, you're over the line."

"Walker..."

"You'll be lucky if I don't report this to Beckman."

"Sarah, no."

"What?! Chuck he threw you down and you hit your head. You could have been seriously injured."

"He didn't throw me down, I pulled away and tripped over my own two feet."

"Chuck, what are you saying?" Sarah looked at him.

"I tripped." Chuck looked straight at Casey, "That's what I'm saying."

Sarah's gaze shifted from Chuck to Casey, and finally back to Chuck. She shook her head as he walked past them both. Chuck stopped just short of leaving the room and reached into his pocket, pulling out a package in a static bag and putting it down on the table.

"Here's the jamming device I used to disable the security in my room."

"Chuck. Chuck wait!" Sarah went after him, reaching for his shoulder. "Stay here for a few minutes, I'll walk you back to the Buy More."

"I can't, my lunch break is over." Chuck started walking toward the stairs again.

"Casey, when I get back we're going to have a nice long talk." Sarah's voice was conversational but the threat was clearly heard. She turned away from silent NSA agent and followed Chuck up the stairs and out of the Castle.

Casey watched the two walk up the stairs and out of the Castle. He went over the interrogation again and again in his mind, there was no way Chuck should have fallen like he did. It was sloppy, he'd been sloppy, he allowed Bartowski to goad him into that. Without thinking Casey punched the bullet resistant wall of the interrogation chamber and grimaced as he heard the crunch of bone. He sat down and began to study the jamming device.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Chuck made it as far as the Orange Orange store front when Sarah caught up to him. They walked out of the store together in Silence. Half way to the Buy More Sarah took Chuck by the hand and fell in beside him.

"Cover maintenance?"

"It doesn't hurt to reinforce the message that we're boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Okay, because the alternative was you were just proud of how I handled things."

"I am proud of you Chuck. I just don't understand a few things."

"Like?"

"Like how you could answer no to the question about me being incapacitated, when you know I was out of it."

"I don't know that Sarah. To me incapacitated means unconscious and unable to function, you seemed pretty lucid except when you were sick."

"So you answered truthfully based upon your understanding of the question, clever."

"I'm a clever guy."

"Yeah, except for antagonizing Casey like that. You really pushed his buttons."

"Well like I said, I'm a clever guy."

"Wait" Sarah stopped and turned to face Chuck. "You did that on purpose?"

"You told me once that Casey's baseline was anger, and I know how to make him angry better than anyone. I just needed to make him angry enough to grab me."

"That was a stupid risk to take Chuck, what if Casey had actually hurt you?"

"Nah, Casey's anger is like Ellie's seven layer dip. I barely scratched the surface. I got as far as the cheesy goodness of his anger. Besides, I knew you'd be coming to rescue me once it got physical."

"Oh really? And what makes you so sure I was going to get there in time?"

"I know you Sarah, you let me go down in the Castle to deal with Casey by myself, but there's no way you were going to miss the show. Once he grabbed me it was just a matter of time."

"You sound pretty sure of yourself Mr Bartowski, what if I hadn't shown up?"

"Wouldn't happen."

"Really? You're that sure?"

"Positive. It's like I said, I know you – more than that I trust you. Saving me is what you do."

Sarah took Chuck by the hand again and the resumed their walk to the Buy More in silent contemplation. He did it all on purpose, even baiting Casey to attack him, all to protect her. What scared her was that he did it because he trusted her to save him. He trusted her so completely, could she ever be worthy of that trust? The stopped outside the entrance to the Buy More and Sarah tilted her face as she looked at him.

"A little cover maintenance from a proud fake girlfriend." Sarah said before her lips brushed against his.

What she'd intended to be a simple 'thank you' kiss transformed as their lips pressed tightly together. Before she knew what was happening her tongue was pushing into his mouth. Sarah felt Chuck respond, his mouth opening for her, his hands found the small of her back, his tongue invading her own mouth in reply. It took several seconds but as she regained her senses Sarah realized how quickly it had gotten out of control and she pushed back. Chuck struggled to regain his breath.

"Whoa tiger, I think that secures our cover." Sarah put a single finger to Chuck's lips as he started to speak. "I'll be by to pick you up for the doctor at 3:45, ok? See you then."

Chuck watched wordlessly as Sarah turned on her heels and walked away. He wasn't sure if it was the lack of sleep, the bump on his head, or the kiss but he suddenly felt like he wanted to sit down and he stumbled toward the Nerd Herd desk where an appreciative group of Nerds and Morgan were applauding the show for the second time in as many days.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

It had taken Sarah the entire length of her walk back to the Orange Orange to clear her head after the kiss with Chuck. She hadn't intended for it to get out of control but once it started it was as if someone else was in control. She spent the afternoon telling herself again and again that it could never work between them, that Casey had nearly ruined it for them and she could never take that risk again. Still as she walked down the steps into the Castle that afternoon she had to shake her head free from thoughts of his soft lips. Sarah moved quietly down the steps and headed for one of the nearest terminals studiously ignoring Casey. After several minutes Casey looked up from his work.

"You were right. I let things get out of hand, I let him goad me into pushing him." Case waited for a reaction, saw none and went back to work. "It won't happen again."

Sarah looked at Casey. She thought of how Chuck had worked the situation to his favor and she realized he'd played Casey like a mark. Casey never would have fallen for it if she'd tried to pull a stunt like that, heck she never would have thought to try. It only worked because Chuck wasn't an agent. It only worked because he trusted her to save him. That's when it hit her – he'd played them both! He counted on them to play their roles, Casey the aggressor and her the protector, and they did just that. They'd underestimated him again and got played. She laughed out loud at the thought.

"What's so funny Walker?"

"I just was just thinking how pointless this all is." She lied looking right at him.

"What do you mean?" Casey looked up and saw her smiling.

"Casey, we're his protection detail. It's our first priority yet we've spent the day fighting each other instead of focusing on our jobs. We have to learn to work together, we're partners, we need to start acting like it."

"Ok Walker, then how about some honesty. I was going to review the feeds in real time, how about you save me the effort and tell me what really happened last night?"

Sarah looked at him and took a deep breath "I got drunk, too drunk." She paused, struggling for control. "I didn't compromise myself with him but I wanted to."

"Why not, didn't he want to or was he physically unable to?" Casey's face was an emotionless mask.

"Neither. I don't know. I think he's simply too good a person to do anything like that." Sarah's voice was quiet, defeated.

"Ok, I buy that. Chuck is a lot of things, but a sleaze ball isn't one of them." Casey fixed her with a penetrating look. "Do you love him?"

"It's complicated." She bit her lip. "I want to, I just don't think I can."

"Is it Bryce, or something else?"

"It's not Bryce." Sarah laughed. "What is it with you men? Please, he wasn't that hard to get over."

"So what is it then? I mean its pretty obvious Bartowski wants you. Hell he's been head over heels for the last year, so what's stopping you?"

"The job. You. The threat of getting reassigned if they find out."

"Please. ***snort*** The job will always be there, and as long as you can do **your** job and it doesn't affect what **we do** I won't complain." Casey saw Sarah's eyes go wide at that comment. "Which means you won't get reassigned as long as you keep him inline. So what's the real reason?"

"I don't think I'm good enough for him. Casey, Chuck isn't like Bryce. He isn't like anyone I've met before. He's not someone you can get a little involved with, its all or nothing with him and when your with him it changes you. He makes you want to be a better person. He scares me Casey."

"Sarah, listen to me. I can't tell you what you should do here, but I can tell you this: Chuck is a good guy. He's the kind of guy I think about when I'm talking about the greater good. Whatever you decide to do, remember who your dealing with here and don't underestimate him, he might just surprise you." Casey thought for a second. "And if you ever tell anyone I just said that, especially Bartowski, I'll beat you down like a rented mule."

Sarah and Casey looked at each other for an awkward second, neither knowing what else to say. Casey turned back to the work at hand, hunching over a small mound of electronic parts. Sarah let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding and walked toward him.

"Thanks Casey. Thanks for that." Sarah walked toward where he was sitting. "Is that the jamming device?"

"Yeah, Bartowski is smarter than he looks. He's hooked a GLG-20 into a micro wireless modem and connected them to a cell phone with a signal booster and a white noise generator, then he married the whole thing to a secondary power source for longer life. Turn it on and the white noise generator blanks out the local bugs while the GLG-20 pumps out whatever pre-recorded surveillance he wants."

"In this case Morgan and Chuck discussing sandwiches."

Sarah gave Casey a questioning look. "So how long did it take you to figure this all out? I mean high level electronics isn't really your strong suit but you seem pretty sure of yourself."

"Well I spent a couple of hours going over it." Casey smiled a rare smile at Sarah, "then I found the owner's manual he wrote for it on the table over there."

"Clever." Sarah laughed at the joke.

"Yeah. He's a clever geek, I'll give him that. This is something we need to show Beckman." Casey saw the look on Sarah's face. "Unbunch your panties Walker. All she needs to know is that he built it to disable the security in his room, not that it was ever used. We can say you found it in his room last night. Happy?"

"What do you think Beckman will do?"

"Don't know, but I'm pretty sure we can steer this one into the win column. The design is inventive, if nothing else they could include this in instructional classes on improvised counter surveillance at the farm."

"Sounds good. Listen, I've got to get Chuck and take him to the doctor's. Can this wait until we get back?"

"Sure, I'm running late for my shift anyway." Casey pushed back from the table, "And Walker, I'm glad we talked but don't think that means I want to do heart to hearts and sip cocoa with you every night."

"Understood Casey. I'd hate for someone to mistake you for a big ol' sugar bear."

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Sarah downshifted as she tried to merge onto the 101, traffic was a bitch and she began to fidget behind the wheel of the Porsche. Chuck had been uncharacteristically quiet so far. She looked over at him and realized that he'd fallen asleep. His curly hair rustled gently in the breeze and she had to resist the urge to run her fingers through it. She told herself the feelings she was having for him were dangerous. She knew what they had could never work out, he would only get hurt because she could never be the woman he needed her to be. Damn. Stuck in traffic just an arm's length away from the man who's arms she'd love to lose herself in, why her? Feeling something had to give when she spotted an opening onto the shoulder she pointed the car and gunned it.

"Wha-?" Chuck woke up when he felt a thump that rocked the Porsche. Blearily he looked around and realized Sarah was driving down the shoulder of the 101 at an insane speed. "Sarah. Sarah?!"

"Have a nice nap Chuck?"

"Oh sure. Say Sarah? Is there any particular reason we're re-enacting scenes from 'The Fast and the Furious'?" Chuck tried valiantly not to let the fear he felt seep into his voice.

"Um, you'll have to help me out on that one." Sarah flashed a smile at him.

"Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster? Do any of these names ring a bell?" As frightened as he was by her driving, her continuing ignorance of basic pop culture references simply amazed him at times.

"Sorry, not really getting it."

"Ok how about, how about we *ARGH!* we slow down before I really do need to see a doctor." Chuck had a death grip on the dash. "Or an ambulance!"

"Oh please, quit being such a baby." Sarah tried to hide her enjoyment of his predicament but she couldn't keep her face from splitting into a huge grin. "It's not like we haven't driven like this before."

"Yes, but people were trying to kill us then..." Chuck literally squealed that last bit as Sarah cut off a Semi to take the off-ramp. "and if you recall the car didn't make it."

"HOLD ON!" Sarah fought to keep control of the Porsche as it fishtailed in front of a Semi.

Until that point the only way to describe what Chuck felt next was something akin to pure terror, but as Sarah brought the Porsche down the off-ramp, cut across six lanes of traffic and drifted through an intersection to send them down the street going almost 180 degrees in the opposite direction, Chuck found himself riding an adrenalin surge and whooping in excitement.

"You ok Chuck?" Sarah shot him a puzzled look. "You don't seem afraid anymore."

"I should have learned a long time ago that when you roll with Sarah Walker, just lay back and enjoy the ride!" Chuck began laughing and hooting as she wove in and out of traffic.

Sarah finally slowed the car and turned into the parking lot of an older office building. Chuck was thoroughly unimpressed. The parking lot looked like it hadn't been repaved in years, the office building itself was a relic from the early 1960's and looked as shabby and stained as the drapes that hung in the lobby windows.

"So this is it?"

"Yes, why? What's wrong?"

"Well, it's sort of a dump. I mean, what Caribbean Med School did you find this guy at, the San Juan Bartending Academy of Medical Science?"

"It's a front Chuck. We don't want him to appear to be too successful, he'd attract too much attention that way."

"Right. Please tell me the bathrooms aren't a front too?"

"Why, what's wrong?"

"I just don't want to get hepatitis using the men's room." Chuck gave her a lopsided grin, "Well let's do this thing."

Just then Chuck saw a short, balding, dumpy little man with wire rimmed glasses leaving the building and he flashed. Images danced behind his eyes, Kalashnikov assault rifles, Caucasian separatists, chemical weapons, a beautiful woman, a yacht. He stopped short and stared before turning to Sarah.

"Sarah, I think we've got something more important to go to than a doctor's appointment."

"Really Chuck, don't let a little visit to the doctor's office scare you."

"It's not that, but I'm pretty sure General Beckman wants to know that Trina Yannakakis is in town"

"Right. We'll reschedule," Sarah sprinted toward her car, "Let's go!"

Hopping in the Porsche Chuck had barely belted himself in when Sarah goosed it and the tires squealed. For all his adrenalin fueled bravado minutes ago he suddenly found himself clutching at the dashboard, white knuckled and muttering a prayer under his breath. A stolen glance at Sarah, the determination in her face with her eyes fixed on the road as she threaded the car through traffic, told him all he needed to know – this wasn't going to be a joy ride like the last time.

* * *

_A/N: This is my first fanfic and of course feedback is always welcome, the more specific the better. Thanks!_

_A/N Supplemental: FYI - I'm a non-linear writer, which means I tend to work on whatever story or part of a story I'm in the mood for at the time. In this case I've finished up four chapters today and while this one ran a little long I liked the story flow so I left it as is._


	5. Chapter 5: The Gathering Storm

Chuck versus Fallout Girl

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own nor am I involved with the production of _Chuck._ On the plus side, I work cheap so if Chris or Josh is reading this - call me.

Synopsis: Chuck's flash on an international arms dealer has them in a rush. Casey learns that a deep cover operative is coming into town and they've been ordered to assist him by all means possible. When it turns out the two things are related and the deep cover operative is Bryce the tension among teammates increases. Bryce's appearance seems to affect everyone differently. Sarah feels the need for more control, Chuck has a crisis of self worth, and Casey wants to shoot him again.

_A/N: Adult language and situations apply._

**Chuck versus Fallout Girl - Chapter Five – The Gathering Storm**

* * *

Casey stood quietly in the Castle's main room. To the casual observer he could be a statue carved of flesh and bone, but to the person familiar with John Casey's moods there was a subtle signs of something wrong, the faint air of anger, a pall of frustration hanging on his face. He'd received the call just minutes before his shift at the Buy More was supposed to start, forcing him to call in late for work.

'_It's only a cover job.' He thought, 'but I had a perfect attendance record for this month, and now it's shot to hell_.' It was ridiculous he knew, but the professional in him rankled at any failing, even if it was just related to a simple cover job. His muscles tightened as the screen crackled to life.

"Major Casey, are we alone?"

"We are General, Agent Walker has taken Chuck to a doctor's appointment that your people scheduled for him."

"Good, good." Diane Beckman seemed to hesitate, "Major Casey, what is your assessment of Agent Walker and Mr Bartowski's relationship?"

"General I would have to describe their relationship as complicated."

"That's not an answer Major Casey."

"I'm not sure what your asking for General, can you be more specific?" Casey had not seen this coming, and he hated surprises. "Are you asking if Agent Walker has compromised herself with the Intersect?"

"I'm asking for an assessment of their relationship, work related and otherwise. Is it strong? How emotionally invested is Agent Walker with the Intersect? Could Mr Bartowski function effectively in her absence?"

"I see." Casey took a breath, "General, I would still have to describe their relationship as complicated." He watched the frustration build on the General's face. "It's not easy for someone who's not around them to understand. Agent Walker has yet to compromise herself with the Intersect, but there's a clear emotional bond between the two that borders on that territory. For her part Agent Walker makes every effort to remain professional, and has gone to great lengths to make Chuck understand there will be nothing between them."

"I take it from what you haven't said that Mr Bartowski is or has openly pursued a more involved relationship with Agent Walker?"

"Ma'am, pursued doesn't quite describe it." Casey snorted. "He's been following her around like a puppy dog for the better part of the last year, and the fact that their cover relationship is boyfriend and girlfriend hasn't made it any easier for either of them." He relaxed into a parade rest stance. "General, may I ask why the sudden interest?"

"Yes Major Casey, you may. I need to know how they will react to the information I'm about to give you. I need to know that they will be able to do their jobs or I will be forced to pass this mission onto other agents." General Beckman looked at him levelly before going on. "We've received word from a deep cover operative that a person of interest in the international arms trade has come into possession of some radioactive material that could be used for dirty bombs. The intelligence on this is still developing, the operative in place was only able to send a brief coded message so we don't have anymore at this time but we should know more before we begin a formal mission debriefing this evening."

"Ma'am I understand the gravity of the situation, but I'm confused. I've heard nothing here that would cause them to react with anything other than a desire to get in there and get the job done." Casey's demeanor was almost defensive. "For all his faults Chuck Bartowski has proven to be a valuable asset in maintaining our national security, and something like this would seem tailor made to bring out the best in him."

"I would agree Major, but that's not the information I was worried about."

"Ma'am?"

"The deep cover operative in question is Bryce Larkin." General Beckman gave the news a moment to sink in. If there was a problem it didn't show on Casey's face. "Given the past interactions your team has had with Larkin, and the discipline issues displayed on the last mission, you can understand my concern. We need everyone focused and able to execute. Allowing radioactive material into the hands of terrorists on US soil is not an option, if your team can't handle this tell me now and we'll reassign the Intersect to agents that can."

"Understood Ma'am. Walker and Larkin have a history, they'll have no issues working together. Chuck and Larkin have a past as well, not always the best relationship but the last time they saw each other I understand they parted amicably. I believe the seriousness of this mission will be all the inducement anyone needs to stay professional." Casey took a breath. "There'll be no problems on this end, I guarantee it." Casey cringed inwardly as he spoke those last words.

"I believe that you believe that Major," General Beckman sat back in her chair staring intently at him. "Very well. Agent Larkin will be in contact shortly. We'll have a mission briefing at seven local time, and Major? Don't make me regret my decision."

"No Ma'am. Thank you Ma'am."

"Beckman out."

Casey let out a breath and his body seemed to sink into itself slightly. He shook his head and started toward the weapons locker. He needed to think, he needed to know what to do, but John Casey was not a man naturally given to introspection. That only came to him when he could lose himself in a task he truly loved, in this case cleaning and prepping the guns they'd likely use for the mission.

'_International arms dealers, nuclear material, and Bryce-fucking-Larkin,' Casey cursed to himself. 'Why me?'_ He grabbed a cleaning kit, two MP5 sub-machineguns, silencer and laser sight kits for both of them, and then as an afterthought, he picked up an accuratized HK Mk 23. He felt the heft of the pistol in his hand and smiled. The German made .45 was heavier than the old 1911 his father had left him or the Glock he used now, but it had a large magazine and was so accurate it could be used as a target pistol. He picked up a silencer and laser sight for it and added them to his arm load goodies. John Casey had a lot of thinking to do.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Chuck stared at his phone in frustration before finally putting it away. He looked up hesitantly and was relieved to see they'd finally made it to the Buy More plaza. He glanced at Sarah and could see the frustration written in her face. He was about to give her more bad news but before he could open his mouth she started asking questions.

"Anything?" Her mouth screwed into a tight smile.

"He still isn't picking up."

"You tried his alternate number?"

"Twice, it went straight to voicemail both times."

"Try paging him at Buy More."

"Already did, Morgan said he called in saying he'd be late almost 20 minutes ago. Also I tried him at home, and I texted Ellie to see if she had seen him." Chuck waited for the next suggestion since' he'd already tried everything he could think of twice.

"Damn him."

"What's going on?"

"It's probably nothing." Sarah's voice indicated that no further questions would be answered. "Okay, we're here. Head over to Buy More and see if he's there, if he isn't meet me in the Castle."

Chuck nodded to Sarah, acknowledging his instructions and got unsteadily out of the Porsche. It took several deep breaths letting them out slowly before he felt stable enough to walk and once he did he started thanking God between each step that they hadn't been killed. Chuck recalled with crystal clarity that moment he saw her swerve between an oncoming bus and a trash truck. He could still see the surprised look on the bus driver's face as the 911 swerved back at the last second and avoided a head-on collision. Chuck could have accepted the fact that they were okay, chalking it up to Sarah's preternatural reflexes behind the wheel, if only he hadn't looked over at that precise moment and realized she wasn't looking at the road but trying to dial her phone. That's when he took control of trying to call Casey.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

He walked into Buy More, reveling in the sights, the sounds, the smells...well maybe not so much the smells. He shook his head as he made his way to the Nerd Herd desk. All he needed to do was find out if Casey was there and then head back to the Orange Orange. As he approached he could see the gaggle of nerds, Jeff, Lester, and Anna, gathered conspiratorially around Morgan. Somehow he knew this wasn't a good thing and he sighed, this day just kept getting longer and longer.

"Hey Chuck, didn't expect to see you back so soon, Everything okay?"

"Hmm? Yeah Morgan, I just forgot my jacket and, um, it has my wallet in it."

"Chuck, are you Okay dude? You're looking a little green man."

"Yeah I'm ok Morgan, it's just that Sarah's driving scares the bejeesus out of me, the woman seriously needs to learn how to mellow behind the wheel."

"Hormones Chuck, it's the hormones. You know you shouldn't let a woman in her condition drive. The hormones, it makes them crazy."

"Morgan. I don't know what you're talking about, but remind me later to explain to you how wrong you are about everything you've just said."

"How can you say I'm wrong if you don't even know what I'm talking about?"

"General rule of thumb little buddy. It has served me well so far." Chuck started looking around, searching the store. "Have you seen Casey?"

"Casey? Yeah I think he's in the media room."

"Thanks" Chuck gave Morgan a pat on the shoulder and made his way toward the media room.

Watching as Chuck's back retreated toward the media room, Morgan, Anna, Jeff, and Lester huddled at the Nerd Herd desk. Whispering in conspiratorial tones they didn't hear Emmett coming up behind them until it was too late to run.

"...I'm telling you the 8GB iPod Nano is the way to go." Lester poked Morgan in the chest for emphasis.

"Yeah but what color?" Jeff's eyes seemed to be focused someplace outside of the group, "I bet she'd like the black one, it's classic and the color is slimming."

"Duh, its for Sarah so pink you morons." Anna snapped her gum between words.

"Anna's right. Sarah's a girly girl, it's gotta be pink." Morgan let his hand caress Anna's thigh.

"Excuse me, but what are we doing and why doesn't it resemble work?"

"Oh hi Emmett, um, Mr Milbarge sir." Morgan gave him a mock salute. "We're just figuring out what to get Chuck and Sarah for their baby shower gift, 'cause, you know the baby."

"Yes, I didn't know about the baby. Tell me Mr Grimes, what happened to his other woman, or does Mr Bartowski have more than one 'baby mama' lined up?"

"Dude, Chuck's not like that. He dumped his ex Jill and he's back with Sarah, since like Thanksgiving. Which is, you know, good timing on his part what with the kid coming."

"Right, well I supposed I should bring up our health and wellness policy then." Emmett started toward the media room after Chuck only to stop suddenly, and turn back to the Nerd Herd desk. "Grimes, I expect you and these other miscreants to resume actual work now. Chop Chop."

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Chuck saw the drapes were closed but found the sliding door to the media room open. Curious he went inside and of course, no Casey to be seen. He was about to leave when a thought struck him and with a small chuckle to himself he closed and locked the door, made sure the curtains were shut tight, and picked up the remote and started punching in the codes he'd seen in the Castle manual. First the Castle's remote console came up, next he selected internal surveillance feeds. Chuck smiled to himself, he'd find where Sarah was in the Castle, then initiate a video chat window on the nearest monitor. '_won't she be surprised?' he thought_. When the video feeds came up his jaw dropped. There was a surprise alright, but not the one he was expecting.

Sarah was there, and so was Casey. There was a heated argument going on but Chuck hadn't figured out the controls for the sound. He kept punching away when he finally picked up their conversation.

"...I had no choice Walker, Beckman contacted me – not the other way around."

"Really, so that's your excuse for lying to me? You told me we'd give her the heads up on Chuck's jamming device when I got back, but you waited until we were long gone and then just couldn't help yourself could you?"

"Listen to me Walker," Casey was clearly agitated. "I said I'd wait until you got back but Beckman CALLED ME." He calmed down as Sarah seemed to acquiesce just the smallest bit. "Don't worry yourself about it, I didn't even have a chance to talk to her about the jamming device."

"Really?"

"She had an agenda, and I didn't think bringing that up was a good idea at the time."

"An agenda? So tell me what it was, and so help me Casey if I find out you are lying to me..."

"I'm not lying. Jeez Walker, you need to relax. Look, there's something big going on, an arms dealer is coming into town or may already be here, and a deep cover operative is going to be in charge of the mission. She didn't have any more information because the Intel was still developing."

"Okay then, I'm sorry if I jumped the gun. Chuck flashed on someone called Trina Yannakakis, that's probably what this is about. Was that all Beckman had to say?"

"No, she wanted to know about the status of our team, specifically you and Chuck." Casey gave her a hard look. "This mission is critical, she was worried about there being problems between you two."

"Why would there be problems? What did you say about us?"

"That you were keeping it professional and that even though he was following you around like a love sick puppy there was nothing going on between you."

"Okay, I appreciate that." Sarah took a deep breath and slowly released it. "It's the truth you know, there is nothing going on between us."

"Just keep telling yourself that Walker, because that's not what had her worried. She was worried because the deep cover operative is your old boyfriend, Bryce Larkin."

Chuck turned off the screen in shock. Bryce Larkin was coming back? Now? Great, great timing. The Bartowski curse has reared it's ugly head again. And what was up with Sarah saying there was nothing between them? He knew there was something there, he'd felt it in her voice, in the way her body shook and was only calmed as he held her. Now his head was spinning with questions. Was she saying that just for Casey or was that the real Sarah? Did she still have feelings for Bryce? Sarah had to know how he felt about her, maybe it was time for him to do something - something that would show her he is just as good as Bryce. Chuck stifled a yawn. _'Great,' he thought, 'now I just have to figure out what I can do better than Bryce "Mr Super Spy" Larkin. How could things get worse?'_

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Chuck closed up the doors to the media room and started out for the Orange Orange, his mind still reeling from what he'd seen. It was unfortunate that he was so engrossed in thought as he might otherwise have avoided the small, weaselly figure approaching him. The illustrious Emmett Milbarge. Chuck sighed heavily, he was exhausted already and he really didn't want to hear anything Emmett had to say. Unfortunately Emmett really wanted to talk to Chuck and he cut him off near the CD racks.

"Excuse me Mr Bartowski, but I need to talk to you about the Buy More health and wellness plan."

"Sure, can this wait?"

"Well it's just that I was going over your file and I noticed you'd accrued seventeen personal leave days in the last three years, a remarkable run of good health I must say, but you do realize that with recent changes in company policy they no longer accrue and you'll lose them with the start of the new year?

"Uh-huh, I was not aware of that." Chuck tried to side step Emmett but was cut off.

"Well no matter, you will get compensated for the accrued days not used, but that means you'll have to use your family leave for the big event, and recall please that family leave is unpaid for all non management personnel."

"Right, that's good to know." Chuck went for an end run around Emmett but was cut off again.

"Yes, you know Buy More has a very generous family leave policy covering bereavement, extended family illness, and pregnancy. I will need you to fill out these forms at least two weeks prior to taking off for the, um, event."

"O-kay, thanks." Chuck stuffed the paperwork in his jacket pocket and finally managed to get passed Emmett. Heading toward the door he muttered under his breath "What's with everyone today?"

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Sarah can see Chuck coming from the Buy More, of course that's why this location was chosen, for it's direct line of sight. Still she's happy for the fact that it gives her time to think of a way to get rid of him until the call tonight. She's tired and he's a distraction. A gentle, sweet distraction that she'd love to be more distracted by under other circumstances, but things with Casey weren't sitting right with her, and Bryce coming in to town gave her a bad feeling. Sarah Walker had learned a long time ago to trust her gut, and it was telling her to head for higher ground right now. She saw the smile on his face as he came through the door, suddenly her gut didn't bother her as much.

"Hey Sarah, Casey wasn't there."

"I know, he's downstairs."

"Ahh, so should we head on down..." Chuck suddenly finds his path blocked.

"Actually no, we need to get some things done in advance of our meeting with General Beckman tonight." Sarah gently places a hand on Chuck's chest, and gives him a gentle push back toward the door. "Look Chuck, you must be exhausted. Go home, grab a couple of hours of sleep and be back here by seven, okay?"

"If your sure?"

"I'm sure." He looked tired, and a little down. She gave him her sweet smile, the one reserved for when he just needed to be reassured that everything was okay. "Seriously, grab a few hours. I don't want you falling asleep in the meeting."

"Yeah, I am kind of beat." He grinned. "I'm outta here. See you at seven?"

"Seven."

"Bye Sarah"

She watched him walk away and found herself lost in a daydream. As soon as she realized what was happening Sarah shook her head gently, resolving to have a talk with him about last night. Friends. That's what they had to be, nothing more than friends. She didn't want to lose him, she felt she needed him in her life. When Sarah thought about Chuck she thought of him like air or water, she couldn't live without him, not really live anyway. But it could never be anything serious, never more than friends. She wanted to believe Casey, but she just couldn't trust him, not if it meant endangering Chuck. She'd have the talk, he'd understand, friends. It was that or nothing. Now if she'd just keep telling herself that maybe she'd believe it too.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Chuck walked through the door to the apartment, the stillness of the place was almost unnerving. He looked around and saw a note on the table:

_Chuck, Devon and I are working late, then grabbing a bite out. Leftovers in the fridge. We'll be back late tonight so you and Sarah can have the place to yourselves until we get home. Have fun baby brother._

_Love Ellie_

He dropped the note on the table, and began emptying his pockets. In short order the note was joined by his wallet, his watch, the keys to the Herder, and a small neatly folded pile of papers Emmett had given him. He made a mental note to read them but decided it could wait until after he'd taken a shower.

Chuck luxuriate under the hot water, feeling the fatigue wash form his bones he suddenly didn't care about Bryce. He knew Sarah, she wasn't going to be suckered in by those movie star good looks, or the fact that they had a past together, or that she didn't need to spend time rescuing him. Suddenly Chuck felt a lot less relaxed and a bit more nervous. He turned off the water and began toweling down. He had to get his head clear before the meeting tonight, he couldn't let Sarah see him acting like a jealous idiot around Bryce. What he needed was some sleep, even a couple of hours would do. He set the alarm and laid down on the bed, Chuck's head touched the pillow and within seconds soft snores were emanating from his room and he was lost in dream.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Sarah closed the door behind her and let out a breath, falling against it. This had not been a bad day really, in some aspects it had been perfectly wonderful. Yet she had a confrontation with Casey, twice, and the news that Bryce was coming into town. These things were not at all what she considered part of a good day. She was exhausted, she needed off this emotional roller coaster. Sarah stripped on her way to the bathroom, leaving a trail of clothes from the door to the shower. _'A nice hot shower,' she thought. 'and then a nap, just something to take the edge off, and everything would be better.'_ As steam filled the bathroom Sarah climbed into the shower and tried not to think of what lay before her, instead she lost herself in thoughts of Chuck and the night before, what she could recall at least, and she smiled as the water cascaded over her body.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Bryce Larkin frowned, it was barely five and the Porsche wasn't in front of the Orange Orange yogurt shop. That meant Sarah wasn't around, but she also wasn't at her hotel when he went by there earlier. That probably meant she was out with Chuck. He decided to head in, he could use the Castle's systems to give him their exact location. Something within him stirred at the thought of them together. It wasn't jealousy, not really. Bryce Larkin hadn't a jealous bone in his body, not that he knew of anyway. No, it was concern. He was worried, he told himself, that was all it was. Sarah was a professional, he knew she'd do her job. But what if doing her job meant hurting Chuck? He paused as the door to the Castle opened, from the top of the landing he saw a familiar figure – at least now he'd get some information.

"You're early Larkin."

"Can't put one over on you can I Casey?" Damn that man hadn't even looked up, he was still razor sharp. "You haven't seen Chuck and Sarah have you? Thought we might get caught up since we still have a couple of hours before the briefing."

"Chuck and Walker are getting some sleep, they had a late night last night." Casey gave him a smirk.

"Really? So things are serious now? Didn't think you went for that Casey." Bryce tried to hide his disappointment.

"We're too far down the garden path to worry about it now, as long as it doesn't cause us to scrub the mission I'm not complaining." Casey fixed him with a cold stare. "Since they're not around why not tell me what it is we're doing?"

"I'll wait until the team is together" Bryce smiled at the big man. "That way I'm not repeating myself."

"Suit yourself." Casey went back to cleaning the MP5 in his hands. "Got a place to stay?"

"Actually I do, but not until tomorrow. Tonight I thought I'd impose on Sarah."

"Yeah." Casey looked up again, it was not one of his warmer looks. "None of my business but if you screw things up with Walker or Bartowski? I'll shoot you again."

"Point taken. Later Casey."

Bryce left the Castle deep in thought. Casey hadn't exactly confirmed his worst fears, but he'd done nothing to allay them either. Bryce trusted Chuck to do the right thing, so maybe Casey was just tweaking him. After all it wouldn't be the first time now would it? It wasn't personal, he told himself, he had to know he could trust them when the mission called for him to make the hard choices. This was his operation and there was a good chance one or more of them wouldn't come back alive if things went south. Bryce pushed the negative thoughts out of his head and drove back to Sarah's. If she was gone when he arrived at least he'd have a chance to think in peace, and if not he'd have a chance to find out for sure if Casey had been lying to him. Pulling onto the freeway he gave the Ferrari some gas and smiled as the other cars became little more than a blur. Before long he was just a red streak running into the distance.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Casey rammed the patch down the barrel of the MP5. Larkin was here and he was obviously looking to hook up with Walker, that's all they needed right now. He'd told the General there'd be no problems, guaranteed it. If he had to pull each one aside individually and lecture them like five year olds he would, hell, he wasn't joking about shooting Larkin again either. Of course that would be a last resort, maybe. Bartowski, he was the key. Walker was a professional and something told him she was too emotionally invested in Bartowski to let Bryce get too far under her skin, but the kid wasn't built like an agent. He'd have to lay into him hard and fast about what this mission meant and why he'd have to just suck it up and deal with Larkin and Walker together. Casey grimaced again. He was not cut out to be Dear Abby but he was a strong believer in doing the job that lay before you, even if it was as distasteful as this one.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Sarah walked out of her bathroom and was surprised to see Bryce sitting on the edge of her bed, hands folded neatly in his lap, a faint smile on his lips. She'd been so shocked she nearly dropped her towel but managed to catch it before too much was revealed. She noticed he'd changed. He was darker, had at least one new scar, a small one below his jaw, and his eyes were clouded, something was bothering him. She became more aware of the way he was looking at her, and then of her own nakedness beneath the towel. She shut the door to the bathroom hurriedly and grabbed for her robe. Taking a few deep breathes to calm down she opened the door and he was still there, smiling now, as she walked into the room.

"Care to tell me what that was about?"

"What 'what' was about? I was just surprised to see you in my room, that's all." Sarah moved toward to her closet door.

"Really? Things do change I guess," Bryce got off the bed and walked up behind her, resting his hands on her hips and leaning in to whisper in her ear he brushed the still wet hair from her neck. "The Sarah Walker I know was never so easily surprised, or so modest." He kissed her gently on the neck.

"Bryce?' A shiver ran through her at the feel of his lips touched her neck, she turned quickly but lost her balance and fell against the closet door. "Bryce?"

He'd moved his hands from her waist to her arms and pinned her against the door. Bryce leaned in to kiss her, convinced that Sarah wanted this as much as he did. He didn't see the look in her eyes, or if he did he took for being one of excitement and desire. That was his first mistake.

"Bryce!" She'd seen the look in his eyes, he was focused on her face, her mouth, her lips. He was so sure that she wanted him he just ignored all the unspoken queues. So she slapped him, hard. A small smile escaped her face at the shock on his own. "Now can you hear me?"

"Sorry, I didn't know Chuck had managed to domesticate you."

That was his second mistake. This time he saw it coming but was too slow to react, a loud slap resounded as Sarah's hand bounced off the other side of his face. The look in her eyes indicated that she was far from amused and this was not over. Bryce sat down heavily on the edge of her bed, rubbing first once side of his face, then the other. He looked up at her cautiously. Discretion was often the better part of valor, in this case it might be a necessary component of his own survival.

"Sorry about that, I was out of line."

"Damn right you were."

"I just thought, well..." He gave her his 'charm' smile, the one that always worked. "We have a history, I thought there was still something there."

"Our history is just that." She pulled out the clothes she planned on wearing and laid them on the bed. "We need to keep things professional between us."

"So it's true then? You and Chuck?"

"Who told you about Chuck and me?"

"Casey." He noticed the look, there was something there. "Said you two had a late night last night."

"Yeah, well Casey talks too much." Sarah chuckled to herself. That's not something one normally said about the big man.

Bryce smiled at her joke, the tension was already dissipating. She had changed, there was something about her now, an inner glow. She wasn't the same Sarah Walker he had known and loved, this woman was something more than that. He rubbed his cheek where she'd slapped him the second time, there was passion there he'd never seen when they were together. Part of him was happy for her, happy for Chuck, but the Agent in him was now worried.

"Sarah, I have to know something."

"What?"

"You and Chuck, how serious are you?" He saw her slipping into her game face and moved from the bed, standing before her now he put a friendly hand on her shoulder. "Sarah, I'm not trying to pry – this is my operation, I need to know."

"And this has nothing to do with us?"

"Please, you don't need to slap me twice to get me to understand there is no 'us' anymore." He grinned, "but I need to know, how serious are you two?"

"We're not, not really."

"Sarah, you really think you can lie to me?"

"It's complicated Bryce." She smiled wanly. "I don't want to talk about it, it's just so...complicated."

"Okay, I'll respect that. But I need you to know that this upcoming operation, you and I will be a couple again. I remember how hard he took that last time, and I'm just guessing you're both more involved now. Can he handle it?"

Sarah knew that the question he'd left unasked was 'can you?' She had to stop and think about it, could she pretend with Bryce knowing it would hurt Chuck? The answer was clear to her in an instant, yes, she'd have to, and she'd have to hope Chuck understood. If their relationship, whatever it was, interfered with her ability to do the job, she was worse than useless – she was a liability. Their eyes locked for a few seconds, what went unspoken between them was an understanding, an acknowledgement that they could work together.

"We'll be fine," Sarah tried to reassure him, patting his hand. "We're just friends Bryce, really good friends. If it looks like there'll be a problem I can talk to Chuck. Now if you don't mind, I need to get dressed."

Bryce smiled and excused himself from the room. He wanted to talk to Chuck, now, before Sarah. Chuck's heart would over rule his brain with Sarah around, he was sure of that. Even if she talked to him, Bryce wasn't sure he'd understand. His hope was that they were still good enough friends that Chuck would listen to what he had to say.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

It was dark and he was running, down, down flights of uneven stairs, down into the dark. He stopped, his breath was coming in ragged bursts, his heart was pounding in his chest, the blood in his veins thundered in his ears. Then he heard it, a feint scraping sound. It was coming. He looked around, but there was nothing he could see. It was as if everything around him was at the edge of his sight. He felt the cold damp crumbling concrete under his fingers, he heard water dripping nearby, then another scraping sound, long and drawn out. It was closer, it knew where he was. He ran.

Bryce carefully swung open the window to Chuck's room and stepped inside. He waited for a second, standing perfectly still and letting his senses fill the void. He became aware of Chuck's steady breathing, the occasional soft snore, he sleeping. As Bryce's eyes acclimated to the low light in the room he saw a greenish light casting an ill looking pall over the scene. The light emanated from an alarm clock, the time was _6:11_. He stepped silently toward Chuck and reached for his shoulder.

He was running as fast as he could, his chest ached as he tried to catch his breath. It was there, the beast, right behind him. Closing on him. He stumbled and fell, landing hard on the cold wet concrete. It was there, now, reaching for him. In that moment his fear was crystallized, made real, and he hated it. Reason abandoned him, he lashed out reacting on instinct, swinging his foot out, kicking the beast in the gullet.

Bryce had barely touched Chuck's shoulder when the sleeping figure suddenly lashed out with a foot, catching him unexpectedly in the stomach. Bryce felt the air rush out of his lungs, he staggered, grabbing the bed to steady himself.

He yowled in triumph, his kick had stopped the beast in its tracks. It was wounded, but still it lived. It was time to finish it, for once and for all. There was no going back, no more running. He looked around and spied a loose paving stone, grasping it in his hand he smashed it against the beasts gaping maw. A shout of triumph escaped his lips as the shadowy terror crumbled before him. He clambered to his feet and he let the paver fall from his hand. Standing triumphantly over that which had tormented him in the maze of his nightmare he could not help but shout in victory, and yet something was not right…it was then that he heard the beast speak his name!

Bryce was struggling to regain his breath when he heard a howl. Chuck's hand lash out suddenly, he yelped as the hard plastic of the alarm clock broke against the side of his head knocking him to the ground. The world spun around him, he lay on the floor of Chuck's room. Bryce was vaguely aware of him standing there, looming over him. He forced himself to breathe slowly, deliberately. A few seconds later he craned his neck to see into Chuck's face, but there was nothing there. The eyes were blank, expressionless. He was still asleep.

"Chuck?" Bryce's voice was weak, but growing stronger. "Chuck?"

"Wha- what's going on?" Chuck felt a dizzying sensation, and sat down on the edge of his bed, hard.

"Chuck? It's me, Bryce."

"Wh-who is it?" Chuck leaned over the edge carefully, then slid to the floor on one knee. His hand moved hesitantly toward the groaning figure and as his eyes adjusted to the dark he realized who it was. "Bryce?"

"Yeah, Bryce." He could see the light come back into his eyes. "Help me up? Or were you going to hit me again?"

"Oh man, I am so, so sorry" He reached down and hooking his hands under Bryce's arms, helped him unsteadily to the edge of the bed. "Oh damn. You're bleeding."

"Yeah, that happens when someone smashes their alarm clock into the side of your head." Bryce tried to grin at Chuck, but a spasm in his stomach made him grimace. "Remind me not to wake you up out of a deep sleep again."

"I'm sorry about that, I was having a nightmare." Chuck got up and went to the door. "I'll get you some aspirin."

"So tell me, the nightmares, how long have they been going on?" Bryce shouted out the door from the edge of Chuck's bed.

"What?" Chuck's voice was faint, the sound of running water drowning it out.

"I said how long have the nightmares been going on?" Bryce was still shouting as Chuck walked back into the room.

"No need to shout man," Chuck gave him a half grin, and extended his hands which held aspirin and a glass of water. "Here, these should help the headache you're going to have."

"Thanks." He gulped down the aspirin, "So how long now?"

"The nightmares? I don't know, off and on for the last eight months now I guess." Chuck looked down at his feet, "It started about the time Longshore came to take me away."

"Is it always this bad?"

"Not always, sometimes its worse. Sometimes they're better, a lot better." Chuck smiled as the last words escaped his lips. He offered no explanation as to how a nightmare could become better, he couldn't tell Bryce that in the good ones Sarah saved him. More than saved him. That was something he couldn't tell anyone.

"Care to talk about it?"

"No offense Bryce, but just because I don't hate you right now? Doesn't mean we're back to being best buds."

"Yeah, I've been getting a lot of that lately." Bryce smiled up at him. "So I was going to give you a ride to the Castle for our meeting. Thought we could talk on the way, only now I find I've got this splitting headache." He tossed the keys for the Ferrari to Chuck. "Feel like driving?"

"Um, is it a manual?"

"It's a Ferrari, of course it's a manual. What, can't you drive a stick?"

"Not as such, no."

"Well no worries, its about time you learned."

"Um, Bryce? Thanks for the big vote of confidence but it's a **Ferrari**. I can't afford to get you an oil change, let alone a new clutch or a transmission."

"Don't worry about it, it's a rental."

"Okay, if you're sure."

"I'm sure. Look, if you want to be a world class spy, you gotta know these things Chuck."

"Speaking of world class spies - what about those super spy moves of yours, how'd I manage to knock you out?"

"You didn't knock me out, you knocked me down," Bryce shook his head, "and you only managed to do that because you caught me by surprise with that kick to the gut."

"Funny, that's not the way I remember it." Chuck grinned at Bryce, "And that's certainly not the way I'm going to tell it to Sarah."

"Yeah, about that." his voice was heavy with foreboding. "We need to talk. Grab your stuff and lets go, I'll meet you up front."

Chuck started to protest but thought better of it, watching Bryce leave through his bedroom window. He finished dressing and went to the dining room table for his wallet, watch, phone, and keys. He noticed the papers laying there but left them as he found them, then he re-read the note Ellie had left. He left the apartment with a sigh, just once he'd like a normal night at home with Sarah. If there could ever be such a thing. He locked the door to the apartment behind him.

* * *

_A/N: This is my first fanfic and of course feedback is always welcome, the more specific the better. Thanks!_

_A/N Supplemental: Another long chapter, again I liked the flow of it and decided to leave it as it was written._


	6. Chapter 6: The Balance of Power

Chuck versus Fallout Girl

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own nor am I involved with the production of _Chuck._ On the plus side, I work cheap so if Chris or Josh is reading this - call me.

Synopsis: Chuck's attempt to be a better intersect has unexpected consequences and causes problems for him and Sarah. Sarah decides to push all feelings aside and focus solely on the mission at hand to prove that she can keep her feelings for Chuck separate and still be effective as his handler. Bryce renews his friendship with Chuck, but the effect on Sarah creates even more conflict. Casey watches the dynamic shift as Chuck's loyalty seems to switch from Sarah to Bryce and he begins to worry that even a successful mission could leave the team damaged beyond recovery.

_A/N: Adult language and situations apply._

**Chuck versus Fallout Girl - Chapter Six – The Balance of Power**

* * *

Chuck smiled as he downshifted and the Ferrari's transmission slid into second without the sound of grinding metal. He shot a glance at Bryce and his spirits were further buoyed by the fact that he'd stopped wincing every time he changed gears. It had taken him less than half an hour, but he'd finally gotten the hang of the manual transmission.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this."

"You're doing good, but now it's time for the real test."

"Test? What test?"

"Take the on ramp, we need to get to the double O."

"The freeway?! Are you insane?"

"The meeting starts in fifteen minutes and I don't want to be late."

"Dude, it's the freeway. That's taking off the training wheels a tad early don't you think?"

"Don't worry Chuck, you'll be fine. Just remember what you've learned and step on the gas, I'm not one for keeping the General waiting."

"Okay, it's your rental deposit."

Bryce grinned at Chuck as his friend eased over into the next lane, angling the car onto the on-ramp. It was like old times, he mused, Bryce teaching Chuck another of what he considered life's necessities. The absence of a father in his life had left his friend stunted in certain areas of development such as sports, cars, and women. These were areas that Bryce excelled at, and among the few things he shared with Chuck where he felt he was actually giving more than taking. Chuck may have been the perfect 'A' student at Stanford, but Bryce considered himself the better educated man. So when Chuck was lacking in an area of his expertise Bryce assumed the role of instructor. From the look on his face as they raced down the freeway he was enthralled in learning to drive the Ferrari. This was more than just friends reconnecting, Bryce knew that. Chuck had good reason not to trust him, but Bryce hoped that he could earn back that trust.

"WOW!" the exclamation tore from his lips followed by a full throated laugh as Chuck gave the Ferrari the gas and they shot forward. The smile on Chuck's face threatened to split his head in two as he looked over at Bryce.

"Doin' good there buddy, just keep both eyes on the road." Bryce gave him a reassuring grin.

"Now I get it!"

"Get what?"

"Why Sarah drives so fast all the time. It's...It's like sex!" he grinned as his hands gripped the wheel.

Bryce smiled knowingly to himself. Chuck was only like this when he was completely at ease with someone. "Listen, Chuck...buddy, you're with Sarah a lot right?"

"Sure, all the time. She's my girlfri- it's our cover, boyfriend and girlfriend. Why? Jealous?" Chuck gave him a look.

"No, no. That ship has sailed." He could see Chuck's shoulders relax. "Just curious, you know, about how much she's told you about us."

"Not a lot, you know Sarah." He tried to mask the sudden pang of pain he felt. "She doesn't like to talk about the past. It's need to know, and I don't need to know."

"Yeah, she's amazing isn't she? She can do almost anything but talk to people."

"It's not easy for her, you should know that."

"Yeah, but still you'd think she'd at least let you in on some of it, like this time in Zagreb..."

They continued down the freeway at breakneck speeds, Chuck seemed to become for focused with each and every word coming out of Bryce's mouth. For his part Bryce's smile faltered only once, for just a split second when Chuck squeezed the car between two tractor trailers and he heard the engine whine before the Ferrari jumped forward like it was shot out of a slingshot. Even so, Bryce never skipped a beat and continued to recount past adventures for his audience of one.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Sarah stood stoically behind the counter of the Orange Orange. To the casual observer she was simply wiping the counter down. To a trained professional it was obvious something more was going on, since she'd been wiping the same spot for nearly ten minutes and had been focused on a red Ferrari for the past three. She'd been surprised to see Chuck behind the wheel, even more so that the car didn't stall as he backed into the space. What disturbed her was the sight of Bryce and Chuck talking. For some reason it troubled her, it angered her as well. She didn't appreciate Bryce going behind her back to talk to Chuck. She knew she'd have to deal with the fallout from this, and just once she wanted things to be simple and straight forward. It was 6:58, they were finally coming in.

"Agent Walker" Bryce nodded.

"Hey Sarah," Chuck smiled, then almost as if he'd caught himself doing something he shouldn't he addressed her again. "I mean, Agent Walker.

"You're almost late." The accusatory tone was hard to miss.

"Almost late is another way of saying on time." Bryce's voice oozed confidence.

"My fault," Chuck offered. "We'd have been here sooner if I hadn't knocked Bryce out cold when he came into my room."

"You what?" Sarah's voice indicated disbelief, but her eyes saw the shallow gash near his hairline and the faintest trace of a deepening bruise beneath the hair. Something had happened, but Chuck attacking Bryce? She didn't know what to think.

Bryce simply rolled his eyes at Chuck. "You can tell the story later, I'm sure Casey will get a big laugh out of it. In the meantime we have a mission briefing to get to."

Sarah simply stared for a few seconds as she watched them walk by, there was something different about them both. Bryce had hardly noticed her, and Chuck was friendly but reserved and polite. '_Agent Walker?' She thought, 'I wonder where that came from._' She'd been simply Sarah to both of them for so long that hearing Chuck call her Agent Walker seemed distant and cold. She suddenly realized that it was Chuck saying it that bothered her. She shook her self to chase the thought away. This was no time for sentimentality, they had a mission briefing and that had to take priority. Sarah fell into line and followed them into the Castle.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Three figures stood before the large plasma screen in the Castle's main room. Sarah, Bryce, and Casey stood in a row like soldiers, each with their hands behind their backs. Chuck thought about joining them but had chosen to sit at the table instead. It didn't seem like it was his place to stand there since he wasn't really one of them. Bryce made that abundantly clear on the ride over by regaling Chuck with stories about his life on the road with Sarah in exotic places like Singapore, Zagreb, and Milan. The stories were heavily edited but he knew enough by now to be able to fill in the blanks. In a way Chuck was grateful to Bryce.

Sarah never talked about past missions, and what he knew of her past he came through sheer happenstance, like meeting her friends from high school, or working on a mission with her father to con an oil sheik. Bryce told him more in a ten minute car ride than she'd shared with him in a year. Chuck knew that Bryce was trying, in his own way, to warn him off Sarah. He wasn't angry with him, Bryce was simply doing what he thought was best for everyone just as he had months ago at the fountain. What he didn't know was that Chuck would never put either of them through that again. The only person that could make him stay away from Sarah Walker, was Sarah Walker. Shaking himself from his daydreams he noticed that the meeting had started, and focused as the General began to speak.

"People a unique opportunity has presented itself. Agent Larkin has information that leads us to believe that a major player in international arms trade will be in the Los Angeles area within three days. This woman [the image of an attractive brunette in her early thirties appears on the screen] is Katrina Yannakakis. She is the daughter of a former Greek shipping magnate, she is also the widow of one of the most powerful crime lords in Eastern Europe. For the last seven years she has used these connections facilitate illegal weapons sales across the globe. Agent Larkin recently discovered that Ms Yannakakis had come into contact with a seller who had access to over a hundred kilograms of radioactive material. Enough to make several potent dirty bombs."

"General, I'm not sure I understand. Chuck flashed on Trina Yannakakis this afternoon, and we reported that to you earlier today. It's why we didn't make the doctor's appointment set up for him."

"I understand Agent Walker but we received conflicting intelligence. In this case I believe the Intersect was mistaken, and the man you described was obviously not Trina Yannakakis. Agent Larkin?"

"Agreed General, it's simply not possible that Chuck flashed on her," Bryce looked from Chuck to Sarah, then back to the General. "I left Trina's yacht anchored on the other side of the Panama Canal just yesterday. She couldn't make it here until the day after tomorrow at the earliest."

"Agent Walker, was there something that going on that could have caused the Intersect to make a mistake like that?"

"Um, excuse me?" Chuck's eye brows arched, was he not in the room?

"No Ma'am, not that I'm aware of, and I was with Chuck when he had the flash."

"General it's simply not feasible to think Trina Yannakakis is already in LA, I'd know if she planned on getting here early." A faint half smile crossed his lips. "I got close enough to her to know that much."

Chuck cleared his throat loudly, annoyed at being ignored. "Excuse me, General?"

"Yes Mr Bartowski?"

"Ma'am Agent Walker isn't mistaken, but she's not recalling what I said exactly the way I said it." Four sets of eyes focused intently on him now, but it was the set of cobalt blues that he could feel burning their way through him as he spoke. "I said that Trina Yannakakis is in town. I can understand how Agent Walker would assume that meant I flashed on her, but I didn't."

"Really Mr Bartowski, and just who did you flash on?"

"Nestor Makhno" Chuck grinned. "Trina Yannakakis' trusted lieutenant, advisor, and the chief financial officer for her operation. According to the Intersect wherever you find one, you find the other – they travel together everywhere."

"Interesting" General Beckman leaned forward, "Any particular reason you didn't tell Agent Walker you flashed on Nestor Makhno instead of Katrina Yannakakis?"

"General, the Intersect is just a database. When I flash it's like all of the information on that subject is instantly available to me, I have to filter out the noise to get to the important bits. Normally I just dump out whatever's on top but in this case the information on Makhno is heavily cross indexed with the files on Trina Yannakakis. Once I flashed on him and processed the data the Intersect retrieved I found out enough to deduce she was in town." Chuck scanned the faces in the room, some were blank, others confused. "Nestor Makhno is a nasty character, but he's small time compared to Trina Yannakakis, I knew she would be important to you."

"Agent Larkin?"

"Chuck's right General. If Nestor Makhno is in town this changes everything. We don't have the time to setup the operation the way I'd planned, we're going to have improvise something starting tonight."

"What do you suggest Agent Larkin?"

"Ma'am Trina doesn't deal in arms the way most dealers do, she prefers to maintain the role of intermediary, setting up people looking to buy with people that have something to sell. She has private 'auctions' and takes her commission off the top. Only in rare cases will she use her resources to facilitate transportation. It's a system that has allowed her to remain in operation for nearly a decade without losing a single customer. It was my understanding that the 'auction' where the deals are about to go down would use an exclusive charity function for cover. I had planned to infiltrate the charity function with Agent Walker posing as my lover, while Chuck monitored surveillance to see who he flashed on and Casey would serve as backup for the operation. If, however, she's already in town then something has happened to cause her to advance the timeline. We'll have to come up with another plan."

"Very well then, Agent Larkin since the timetable has been moved up unexpectedly I'll leave it to you, Major Casey, and Agent Walker to devise a new plan." She paused for a second. "And Mr Bartowski, while I appreciate your attempt to maximize the utility of the Intersect, please refrain from doing so in the future. If we'd had the correct information regarding Nestor Makhno three hours ago we'd be that much better prepared now. People, you have a mission. Go to it."

The screen went dark and suddenly three figures turned in unison to face Chuck, still seated at the table. The air was crackling with tension that only grew as Casey gave an indecipherable grunt toward him and walked off to the weapon's cabinet. Bryce shook his head and turned away, heading toward a console on the far side of the room. Only Sarah remained. She stared at him intently for a few seconds longer, her face an unreadable mask, then she simply turned away and headed up the stairs to the store front that served as the Castle's cover. Chuck sat for a few minutes longer, not knowing what to do. He'd thought he was being smart, helpful even, by making the connection between Makhno and Yannakakis, he'd never considered that there'd be a downside to his interpreting the data to discover a bigger fish.

Finally he got up from the table and looked around the room. Casey was busy cleaning guns again, Bryce was engrossed in the data scrolling across the console he sat at, there was no reason for him to be here so he took the stairs out of the Castle and decided to head home.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Chuck walked into the Orange Orange and found Sarah standing there, quietly drinking a soda, and looking at the images that flowed across the small monitor at the counter. He stood stock still, waiting for a sign of recognition. She was upset with him, he got that. Chuck conceded that he should have told her everything up front, but the information he had given them was what was going to let them catch her now, instead of three days from now. Knowing three hours ago would have been better, sure, but he still wasn't sure what he'd done that was so wrong. If not for blind providence he never would have seen Makhno at all. He only hoped that he could apologize and get this behind them all.

"Sarah?"

"What is it Chuck?" her voice was cold and flat.

"I'm, I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Okay"

"Okay?"

"Okay, you're sorry."

Chuck walked toward her and reached a hand forward, but before he could touch her arm she spun around. For the briefest moment he caught the fire in her eyes as they flared at him. "I- I really am sorry."

"Save it Chuck." There was a brief flare of anger before the mask settled across her face again. "You don't really understand what you did do you?"

"I thought I was being helpful by making the connection to Yannakakis, she's the big fish, a whale really."

"Chuck, you lied to me. You led me to believe that you flashed on this arms dealer and it was someone else." She let out a sigh, exasperated. Fixing him with her eyes she continued. "Chuck I passed that information onto the General and she ignored it because of the intelligence Bryce had. If I can't trust you to tell me the truth then I'm not doing my job as your handler."

"Wait, are you saying you're going to leave just because I tried to do my job better and made a mistake?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I just wanted to do the right thing, make a difference for once."

"No Chuck, I'm not leaving. Look, I know you wanted to help and you thought you were doing the right thing, you just don't know enough to make that call. It takes years of training before a field agent is qualified to do it, and as smart as you are you just aren't capable of that." Sarah could see the anguished look in his face, but she clamped down on the impulse within her to take him in her arms and comfort him. "Chuck, this mission is critically important and we all have our roles to play. I need you to play your role. If you aren't able to do that I need you to tell me now."

He let his eyes wander over her face, but there was nothing there, no sign of emotion, no feeling at all. Her eyes alone were alive and but the life within was controlled and focused with a burning intensity. He was about to answer when Casey came into the room.

"Bartowski, Larkin wants you downstairs. Pronto."

Chuck stood still, his eyes still locked on Sarah's, unsure now what to say. Finally he muttered a weak "No problem." And headed for the Castle entrance.

Casey watched him walk away and then turned back to Sarah. "Did I interrupt something?"

"No, not at all." Her mask never slipped, she turned back to the monitor and absent mindedly sipped on her soda.

"You talked to Bartowski about it?" Casey addressed her back.

"Yes."

"And?"

Sarah turned to face him, she was at once the picture of composure. "He thought he was doing the right thing. I think he was trying to show us he could do the job better. It won't be a problem again."

"Do the job better? He doesn't interpret intelligence Walker, he's not qualified. He reports it, pure and simple. That's his only **job** here." Casey's voice held an edge so sharp it cut the very air. "Impress that on your boyfriend Walker, or I will."

"I said it won't be a problem again." The edge in her voice indicated that the conversation was over.

The two stared at each other for a long second, then Sarah turned back to the monitor effectively dismissing Casey. He grunted once in response and headed out the door. "I'll be back in twenty."

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Chuck felt as if he'd failed everyone. It seemed like all the expected from him – no, all they wanted from him – was a walking talking database that would sit in the van and stay out of trouble. He wanted to show them he could be more than that, he needed to show them he could be more than that. By the time he'd stepped onto the floor of the Castle he was in a foul mood. He walked up to Bryce, who was sitting at the small desk that he'd reserved for himself, and found him staring at the monitor that Chuck considered his own. He had chosen that particular desk because it was stuck away in a corner of the Castle, secluded even within the secret base. It made a sort of sense to him, he couldn't explain it to Sarah when she'd asked why there, it just felt right. Now Bryce had taken it over. Was there any aspect of his life Bryce hadn't co-opted? First he took away Stanford, then Jill, his normal life, Sarah, and now his desk. Chuck pulled up a chair and sat down next to him.

"Comfy?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah." Bryce was still looking at the monitor.

"Like the desk do you?" Chuck's voice dripped with insincerity.

"Mm, yeah it's okay." Bryce either didn't noticed or was ignoring him. "Hang on a sec, I'll be right with you."

"Any particular reason out of every place in the Castle you decided to sit here?" Chuck ignored Bryce's comment and pushed on.

Bryce turned to look at Chuck, "I don't know, it's sort of secluded. Tucked away in the back, it just feels right." He could see something in Chuck's face. "This is your desk isn't it?"

"Uh-huh"

"I'm sorry man, I didn't know." Bryce gave him a half hearted smile. "Look, I know I'm not your favorite person right now, and coming back like this, disrupting your life, screwing things up between you and Sarah...I just want to say I'm sorry."

Chuck was taken aback and suddenly found himself unsure of what to say. In one sentence his old friend had just absolved him of any guilt he may have felt for hating him. "Thanks." It seemed inadequate for the gift he'd been given.

"Chuck, what happened earlier," Bryce hesitated, searching for the right words. "I want you to understand something. When Casey and Sarah said you weren't qualified or capable of interpreting the intelligence – they were wrong. I know you, you may not have the experience but you're one of the smartest most capable guys I know. You could do the job blindfolded with a little training."

"Then why did they say that?"

"You have to understand. What we do? We need the intelligence unfiltered, we're putting our lives on the line here and we can't run the risk that you'll leave something out. That's all they were trying to say to you. Actually given your relationship with Sarah I'm surprised she didn't just say that instead of run you down like she did."

"Wait, how do you know what Sarah and Casey said?"

"I'm a spy. It's kinda what we do." Bryce saw the look of confusion on his face, and jerked his head back to the monitor.

"So you were eavesdropping?" his voice was flat but the disappointment was obvious in his face.

"Occupational hazard" Bryce gave him a half smile, then saw the look on his face. "I'm sorry. I seem to be saying that a lot lately."

"Well if you're tired of saying it, maybe you should quit doing things to be sorry about."

"Okay. I had that coming. Thing is Chuck, I really am sorry, and I guess I just want to do what I can to fix this between us." His hand went to Chuck's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I just want a chance to get my best friend back."

Chuck's head dropped, his eyes focused on the his hands that lay folded in his lap. Bryce had been his best friend at Stanford, he'd even tried to protect Chuck in his own way. There was a lot he'd blamed him for, Jill, his life after Stanford, cursing him with the Intersect, but Chuck knew that a lot of that was misplaced anger. People's sins were their own, isn't that what he'd told Sarah? Jill broke his heart, not Bryce. Chuck let himself stagnate for five years, not Bryce. True, Bryce sent him the Intersect, but that brought him a new life and Sarah. Sarah. That alone was a reason to absolve Bryce for a lot of the guilt he was feeling. Everything he'd done for Chuck had been out of some misguided sense of friendship, and now it seemed as if every wrong Chuck had attributed to him was a petty slight on that friendship. More importantly right now he seemed like the only person around who actually wanted to be Chuck's friend. Chuck looked Bryce directly in the eyes.

"Everybody gets one." The patented Bartowski grin made its first appearance of the conversation, and he extended his hand.

"I hope you know how much this means to me," Bryce took his hand and gave it a firm pump. "I promise I won't let you down a second time."

"Good to know," Chuck was smiling, "'cause if you do I'll have Casey kill you."

"Deal." Bryce returned the smile and then the two started laughing at Chuck's joke. Bryce thumped Chuck on the shoulder and slid his chair to the side making room for him at the console.

"Here's what I wanted to talk to you about," Bryce began punching in commands, bringing up new screens of information. "We need to think of a way to make you're information work for us, and I was thinking - How do you feel about a being 'Charles Carmichael' for a while?"

Chuck's face split into a broad smile, "I'm up for it, so what do I have to do?"

"Great, then here's what I'm thinking – Trina knows me as a rich playboy type investment banker."

"Nice cover."

"Beats working at a Buy More." He grinned. "Anyway there's no way we can figure out who the seller and buyer are for the radioactive material by tomorrow, certainly not in time to stop the transaction going down. But if we were in on the auction, we could be right there when it happens."

"How would we get in on the auction, is there another charity function?"

"No, but there's a trade conference in town and the Greek Mission will be hosting a private reception, that's where it will go down, I'm sure of it."

"How do we get into a private reception, won't they spot us?"

"Chuck, it's a private reception for an embassy, to them intimate means four hundred people in attendance – we'll blend."

"Got it, so what's my job?"

"Well I was thinking something industrial, maybe tied to chemicals, they always sell well on the black market."

"Yeah, but I can never pass for someone like that – how about software? When we've used Charles Carmichael in the past he's always been a software genius, and his company is software related."

"We need something weapons merchants are going to want to buy though Chuck, software just won't cut it."

"Are you kidding me? Software is used in missile guidance systems, weapons systems, for controlling the avionics of stealth aircraft, piloting UAVs..."

"Piloting UAVs? The Banshee UAV project was just shelved last month. How do you feel about being the CEO of Carmichael Avionics?"

"It beats working at a Buy More. Now let's talk about what we're going to sell..."

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

The main room of the Castle was bustling with activity. Bryce was still sitting at Chuck's desk, working out the details of the plan, but he' filled Chuck in on it and it was, in his humble opinion, even better than the one Bryce had originally outlined during the previous meeting. Chuck was sure that his expanded role in this new plan had nothing to do with finding it superior, he wasn't that easy was he? Of course he was. He looked around the room, Casey and Sarah were both engrossed in reading the files they had on Trina Yannakakis's operation and Nestor Makhno. It had surprised him that they had so much data in hard copy form – real old time file folders with paper in them and everything – then Casey pointed out that they were a good back-up to have if the computers went down. Chuck thought that guys like Casey probably preferred the old paper files, nostalgia for the days when the cold war was still around and there were clearly defined groups of good guys and bad guys.

The meeting was going to start soon, Chuck thought it better clear the air with them now rather than let things fester. He walked to the table and cleared his throat. Casey looked up, annoyed expression fixed in place and stared at him. Sarah turned the page of the document she was reading, ignoring him in such a way that Chuck knew she was aware of his every movement right down to his breathing.

"Uh, guys?" His voice was a little higher than he'd wanted. A fake cough and he tried again. "Guys? I, uh, I wanted to talk to you both...about earlier."

Chuck's gaze shifted from on to the other. If he was expecting any reaction to his words he was going to be disappointed. He let his eyes chose a point in the table between both seated figures. He'd learned this trick playing COD with Morgan, focus on a point then unfocus your eyes and expand your field of vision. It took a second but he could now see the entire table, including Casey and Sarah, perfectly – just as if he was watching them on a monitor.

"Okay, let me first say I'm sorry. I know I've said that already but I thought it bore repeating." Chuck paused for a second. "Moving on. What I did today? It was just plain dumb. Really, really dumb. I just wanted you both to know why I did it." He paused again, as if gathering his strength before starting again. "I see you guys in action, taking down the bad guys, defending what you believe in, protecting me...and, and I admire you for that, I really do. Part of me wants to do that, or to be able to do it anyway, but I know that's not really an option. I'm just not cut out to be that guy - Bryce was right about that at least." Chuck takes another deep breath, before continuing. "Anyway, I thought maybe if all I was going to be was the Intersect, I could at least do a better job at that, but it seems I screwed that up too. Look, I guess what I'm saying is, I get it now." His voice became flat and emotionless, "You need the intelligence clean and unfiltered because your lives could depend on it. I want you to know you can trust me to not screw up again. I know I've got a role on this team as the Intersect. I want you to know you can count on me to do that from now on."

No one moved at first, Chuck let the words he'd spoken sink in and then after a few seconds more consideration he turned his back toward them and walked toward the Castle's galley. He didn't see the look on either of their faces as he walked away. Chuck sighed and reached for water from the fridge, he'd said what he had to say. Some of it he meant, some was said because he was hurting. It didn't matter anymore, at least it was out in the open now and with the mission to focus on they could all put it behind them and deal with the problem at hand.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Casey pushed back from the table and shifted from his seat. He looked across at his partner, she'd sat unmoving throughout the entirety of Chuck's speech but that didn't mean she hadn't responded to it. Her fists had clenched tighter and tighter until her knuckles had gone white and Casey could swear he heard bone grinding. Closing the file folder he'd been reading he tapped the table in front of Sarah. When she didn't respond he simply put two fingers on the folder and pushed it away from her face. Her composure remained in tact, but he could see in her eyes that she was hurting.

"Walk with me."

"I'm fine Casey."

"Bullshit. Now lets go."

Sarah got up and joined him, and the two walked back toward the detention cells where Casey grabbed her by the arm and pulled her aside.

"What's wrong Casey?"

"You tell me. I'm not the one who's clenching her fists so tight it sounds like her knuckles are going to pop." His face hasn't changed a muscle, but his eyes are focused intently on Sarah's.

"Chuck, he heard us talking about him, what we said." She looked at his face, unmoving as if it had been cut from stone. "What he said...were we too hard on him?"

"No...I don't know." Casey looked at her for a second, he could tell the speech had torn her up inside. Truth was Chuck had gotten better at pushing his buttons too. The kid had a knack. "Maybe."

"I should talk to him."

"And say what?"

"You heard him. He's hurting right now." Sarah's face was awash in conflicting emotions, "I can fix this."

"What needs to be fixed Walker? Yeah his feelings are hurt, but the kid's finally got his head in the game."

"Casey, he's my asset. I know him, he's not acting like Chuck."

"No, he's not. But he is trying to act like a professional. A geeky professional but at least he's making the effort. Now how about you?"

"What are you saying?"

"We have a mission Walker, he said all that for a reason. Are you going to throw it away?"

"I understand."

"Good. We've got a meeting in thirty, let's go."

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

It was a replay of the scene from earlier that evening with the three familiar figures standing before the large plasma screen in the Castle's main room. Sarah, Bryce, and Casey all in a row like the good little soldiers they were, only this time there was a fourth little soldier. Chuck had joined them, choosing a spot just behind Bryce and away from Sarah and Casey. His handler glanced at him, her professional demeanor never slipping but Chuck thought he could see pain in her eyes, if only for a second. Casey simply nodded at him and turned back to face the screen. Chuck wasn't sure what Sarah's look was about, but he'd hoped that the so called professional would be able to move past his mistake from earlier today.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, at least Bryce had come through for him. It was good having a friend he could count on when he was feeling inadequate. Normally that was Sarah but the last day had been a riot of conflicting emotions and now she was as cold as ice toward him. Maybe the CIA was right, maybe it wasn't the best idea for an Asset to get involved with an Agent. He sighed inwardly knowing that if that was the case it was a lesson learned too late to save him, because he was hopelessly involved with her.

"People, it's late and I'd like to get this wrapped up as quickly as possible. Agent Larkin, tell me we've got a solution for the Trina Yannakakis problem."

"General, I think I have just the solution. I did some checking with a source at the Greek Mission here and there's a formal reception tomorrow night at the Intercontinental Hotel as part of a Pan-European trade conference. The Greek Counsel is a close family friend and although my source was unable to confirm that Trina Yannakakis would be in attendance I'm sure she'll be there – the trade conference and the reception will provide her with the perfect cover for her auction."

"Excellent news Agent Larkin. I assume you will be adapting your original plan, infiltrating the reception with Agent Walker as your wife, while Chuck monitors surveillance to see if he flashes on anyone and Casey serves as backup?"

"Actually Ma'am, the plan's been modified. We know that the sale of the radioactive material is just one of many things that Trina will be acting as intermediary for, but with the compressed schedule we haven't had the time to discover the identity of either the seller or buyer. However if we were to show up with our own product to sell we'd have greater access to the other auction participants, and Trina herself. That would mean that we'd be in a position to gain access to her master account ledger. We get our hands on that and we'll have her bank account information as well as a complete list of all clients for the last seven years. We could roll up her entire operation and make a serious dent in international arms trafficking."

"That certainly sounds ambitious Agent Larkin, what do you propose we offer as our 'product'?"

"Actually General we thought about offering up the Banshee UAV system for sale."

All eyes were on Bryce now and the General leaned in toward the camera, "Did I hear you correctly – you want use the Banshee UAV system as bait? Unacceptable."

"General, we won't be offering the whole system – just the software guidance module for the system," the General's eyes narrowed as Bryce talked. "Since the DoD began widespread use of UAVs in the Iraq and Afghan theatres they've become the hot ticket on the black market. Offering up the software guidance module for the Banshee, the most advanced UAV system to date, should guarantee us a number of very lucrative bights – Trina won't be able to say no."

"I haven't heard anything that makes me like comfortable about this plan Agent Larkin. How do you intend to keep the software out of enemy hands?"

"We can modify a copy of the software so that it'll run for demonstration purposes, but be absolutely useless to anyone who purchases it." Bryce turned and gave Chuck a nod.

"Basically General, it'll be crippleware." Everyone except Bryce was staring at Chuck and by the look on their faces he might as well have spoken in Klingon. "Crippleware is software that appears to function normally when tested, but when you actually try to use it it's absolutely useless. I figure we can have a fully modified module ready for testing in a few hours."

"Very well Agent Larkin, how will you attempt to sell this to Trina Yannakakis? She knows you as an investment Banker, not a software developer for the DoD."

"General, we've got that covered. I'll present myself to Trina as representing the interests of Charles Carmichael, CEO of Carmichael Avionics. My cover will be that of the main financial stake holder in the company, Agent Walker will be the company CFO and my date, and Chuck will be Charles Carmichael the CEO and founder. Chuck suggested that Casey assume the role as a co-founder and former test pilot, since he has an Air Force background. With the Banshee program shelved for budgetary issues, we should have no problem convincing Trina that we're desperate to sell since the company's books will show we're cash strapped and on the verge of bankruptcy."

"Excellent plan Agent Larkin, we'll have Operations Support put together a complete company profile for Carmichael Avionics and get you a copy of the Banshee software once we've cleared it with the DoD."

"Ma'am, I couldn't have done it without Chuck's help. This is as much his plan as it is mine, and he was instrumental in getting this put together as quickly as we did."

"I see. Well you're assistance in this case is to be commended Chuck. Very well Agent Larkin, it appears that you've got this plan well in hand. Forward any additional requests for support to Operations. Good job people, now let's get to work."

Chuck glanced over to see what impact the General's words had on Casey and Sarah's. Casey was, as usual, a statue so no real surprise there. It was Sarah's demeanor toward him that he couldn't understand, there was no sign of emotion on her face, not even a smile of acknowledgement. He was hurt, all that talk about how he could do or have anything he wanted, yet she was looking at him now like she doubted he could tie his own shoes. He walked toward her only to be intercepted by Casey first.

"Good job Bartowski, this plan ain't half bad." Casey gave him an approving grunt. "Just don't make me regret saying that by screwing up like you normally do."

"Thanks Casey, you always know the right thing to say." Chuck found himself speaking to the big man's back. When he turned around Sarah was standing there before him. "So, surprised?"

"You continue to surprise me." Her voice was warm and a faint smile crossed her lips, only to fade away as quickly as it came.

"Really? I thought you said I could do anything...have anything." Chuck suddenly felt confused, he didn't know who she was anymore, the Sarah he thought cared about him or the cold professional from fifteen seconds ago. "Was that all just a lie?"

"No Chuck, I wasn't lying. I meant it." she let another smile out. "I'm proud of you. You did good."

"Thanks" He felt the anger and frustration within him melt as she touched a hand to his bicep and smiled sweetly at him, a look of genuine pride in her face. He extended a hand, "Friends Again?"

"Of course, don't be so melodramatic Chuck." She ignored his hand, instead leaning in to give him a quick hug. "Listen, we've got a lot of work to do so go home and get some sleep, and I'll see you tomorrow morning?" Her voice was hopeful and she playfully bumped his shoulder as she walked past.

"Sure." Chuck's smile faded at her passing. Watching her walk away was like losing a favorite memory.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Casey was in the store room, assembling a variety of electronic surveillance devices for the next days mission. It wasn't as therapeutic as cleaning weapons, but it had it's moments. He thought back to the meeting and how Chuck had surprised him. A few weeks ago the kid would have crumbled under direct fire from Beckman, Walker, and himself – hell just the other day he was moping about after getting the rough side from him and Walker for his antics on a mission. Not now. Now just hours after he got his ass handed to him by all three of them he was standing strong, he'd managed to pull it together, man up and apologize, then help put together the plan for the mission. Casey grunted approvingly then, it was a good plan and he was looking forward to passing the news onto General Beckman that he'd been right about Chuck. The stress of the mission, the need to focus, it was bringing out the best in him.

Walker was another matter. Since Bartowski came in for the seven o'clock briefing she'd been nothing but professional, that was true, in fact she'd been icily so. But she'd hardly brought her 'A' game to the table. He wasn't sure if it was Bryce or Bartowski, but a bee had gotten under her bonnet and instead of having one of the best agents in the CIA as his partner he had a moody, repressed, ice queen with a hair trigger temper. God help him but he preferred it when she and Bartowski were making cow eyes at each other thinking he couldn't see them. At least then she actually focused on the mission instead of withdrawing into herself. He noticed that it wasn't until after the second briefing that she finally started acting like the old Sarah Walker.

The more he thought about it, it all came back to Larkin. Casey never liked him, too slick, too sure of himself, not as good as he thinks he is. Since he'd been here Larkin had latched onto Bartowski and he seemed to be working an angle. He just wasn't sure what it was. A year ago he tried to get Walker to abandon Chuck and leave with him. A few months back he popped back in and did his best to drive a wedge between them both. What was his angle this time? Was it just the mission, or was there something else driving him? Whatever game he was playing it was dangerous and Casey thought it was about time to deal with that.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

It's midnight and Casey looks around the Castle, Walker and Bartowski are long gone, only he and Larkin remain. Bryce is still at the console he'd staked out earlier, going over the details of the operation. He smiled to himself and realized that he was trying to familiarize himself with the arcane methodology that Bartowski used for note taking. If he needed more proof that Larkin was riding Chuck's coattails this was it. Casey set a bottle of water down next to Bryce and nodded when the younger man looked up.

"Hard to follow, isn't it?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten just what an acquired skill reading Bartowski shorthand was."

"Bartowski shorthand?" Casey took a sip of his bottled water.

"That's what we called it at Stanford. Chuck can pack copious amounts of information into his notes and it's practically indecipherable to the uninitiated."

"Yeah, I still can't read it. Walker usually translates it for me."

"Sarah can read this?" Bryce opened the bottle of water and took a long drink.

"Yeah, I've even caught her writing in it as well." He sorted. "She says it should be taught at the farm because it's efficient and acts like a simple cipher at the same time."

"She's probably right. Chuck always was like that, he'd see a better way of doing things and then just go to it. I always wondered why he couldn't just move on after Stanford."

"You know Bartowski, he's all heart." Casey's eyes narrowed. "Getting stabbed in the back by the two people that he cared about most might have had something to do with it."

"Look Casey, I don't expect you to understand but what I did was for his own good." Bryce blinked a few times. "I just didn't think he'd take it this had...hard."

"Yeah, well when you mess with people's heads you never know how it will come out do you?" Casey punctuated his statement with another sip from his bottle.

Bryce licked his lips and took another sip from his bottle of water. "Casey?"

"Thirsty Bryce?" Casey smiled.

A horrified look crossed Bryce's face as he looked at the bottle of water in his hand. "You sonofa..." Bryce's eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped toward the floor only to be caught in Casey's arms.

"Didn't they teach you anything at the CIA? Fucking amateur."

Casey drug Bryce's limp body back to the holding cells. He'd asked him earlier today if he had a place to stay, next time maybe he'll make better arrangements. Casey drops him unceremoniously on the floor with a pillow and blanket by his head before locking him in the cell. He smiles at the sight before him. _'No need to hit up Walker for a place to stay now is there?' Casey thinks._ It isn't long before the only sound in the Castle is the rarest sound of all, a John Casey belly laugh.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Sarah climbed behind the wheel of her car and started for home. She knew this wasn't working, trying to be all Agent all the time, shutting down her emotions, pretending that she didn't care about Bryce being back or trying to treat Chuck like he was just an asset. She'd been at it for less than six hours and already she felt like she was living in hell, in fact the best she'd felt since Bryce had shown up was the last thirty seconds she's spent talking to Chuck before she left the Castle. She dreaded what this meant, they'd have to have a long talk in the morning. She'd explain things to him, and hope he understood what the mission called for, and then she'd deal with the fallout. _'Damn him'_ Sarah cursed under her breath thinking about Bryce. _'What was he playing at with Chuck?"_

That's what really bothered her, the way Chuck had warmed to Bryce. She knew they'd been friends before he got Chuck expelled from Stanford, and she knew that Chuck had forgiven him months ago, just before Chuck gave her '_The Speech_' at the fountain. The speech at the fountain. Bryce...Chuck..._The Speech_. That meddling no good...

"**_That sonofabitch!" _**Sarah loosed a full throated scream

She'd always wondered what happened that night, what made Chuck sit her down and break her heart like that. It wasn't that she wanted to start dating him or expected him to profess his undying love, but there was something there, something undeniable between them and just when she was ready to give in and go with it she gets _The Speech_. It was an eloquent speech to be sure, Chuck Bartowski was an eloquent man when he needed to be. _The Speech_ was filled with just enough truth to sting, but coming from him it didn't sting so much as burn. From anyone other than Chuck it would have been painful to hear those words, but from him it was hell. Listening to him confirm her worst fears, that she would never be 'normal', which meant she would never be good enough for him, it was like having her heart carved out with a dull knife. Her chest hurt now just thinking about it, she just wanted to go to bed and sleep this nightmare away.

Sarah tried her key in the lock a second time but it wouldn't fit. She stopped and looked at the keys in her hand, it was her room key alright. Then she looked up and saw she was standing in front of the door to the apartment Chuck shared with Ellie and Devon. She stood their silently, not knowing how she'd gotten there but realizing that she wanted to be anywhere else just then. She turned to walk away when she heard his voice.

"Sarah?"

She stood still, saying nothing, her breath coming in slow shallow takes.

"Sarah, what are you doing there?"

If she doesn't move, it isn't real. She can just stand like this and he'll go away. She can't see him now.

"Sarah, are you alright?"

She felt his hand on her shoulder and his touch sent a shiver of electricity through her, suddenly it was all too real. She searches for the Agent within her, looking for the trained killer to come forward and save her, but the Agent had long since abandoned this fight. Coward. The gentle strength in his hands turns her around, facing him.

"Sarah, you're shaking. What's wrong?"

His arms enfold her body and she instinctively collapses into him. She tries to push away from him and he hesitates to let her go. She pushes harder, struggling in his grasp. He tightens his grip but it's not enough, she begins to beat on his chest with her fists, her face still buried in his chest she screams out her rage and pain. She releases the pain she's held onto since that night at the fountain, since _The Speech_, since he broke her heart, since she found she had a heart to break. His arms redouble their effort to contain her, and finally spent she feels him, his warmth and strength surrounding her, protecting her, his scent fills her nostrils and with every breath the heady bouquet becomes more intoxicating. He calms her now and she lets him. He has become a safe harbor for her. How long they stand like this she doesn't know, but when she's finally able to control her breathing she feels the beat of his heart, and realizes that her own has slowly fallen into sync with it. Her mind drifts free and she wonders why she was so upset, what brought her here, and then she hears the gentle babbling waters of the fountain and she remembers. _The Speech_. She can feel his lips brushing against her temple, a kiss to reassure her. It's too much.

"Chuck" She looks up to see his warm chocolate eyes filled with nothing but love and compassion for her. "Chuck, let me go. Please?" he loosens his hold on her, but he does not release her and part of her thanks whatever higher power it is that cares for soulless killers like herself, since she thinks she would fall without him.

"Sarah, what's wrong? I was so worried about you..."

"I just needed to..." She chokes on the words, and feels his lips on her forehead, comforting her. "Please, I just want to go home."

"Okay, I'll take you home."

The rest of the night is a blur. He drives the Nerd Herder. She curls up in the passenger seat and stares out the window trying to avoid contact with him, but he begins to stroke her back reassuringly. She finds herself needing the touch of him so badly she leans toward him to facilitate the contact, all the while cursing her body's betrayal. He walks her to her room, and waits patiently while she changes in the bathroom. She says nothing, she wants nothing to encourage him, nothing to let him think she wants more from him. It doesn't matter. No sooner does she walk out of the bathroom and he is there, helping her into bed, tucking her in like she's a child. He leans in to kiss her on the forehead and she captures his face with her hands, pulling him in roughly for a deep, passionate kiss. It is filled with pain and love, gratitude and longing. If he were to climb into bed with he now she could not deny him but after a few seconds he breaks the kiss. He smiles at her and wishes her a good night, promising to see her in a few hours.

Sarah stares at the ceiling, her mind is clear of all confusion for once. She couldn't do this anymore, it was killing her. In the morning they would talk, they would come to an understanding or she would leave him because this wasn't fair to either of them anymore. That is what she would do, _'And it's the right decision' the Agent within her said._ _'You're one to talk, where were you when I needed you?' she asked._ The only answer she received was silence. _'Coward.'_

* * *

_A/N: This is my first fanfic and of course feedback is always welcome, the more specific the better. Thanks!_


	7. Chapter 7: Ain’t Gonna Suffer No More

Chuck versus Fallout Girl

**Disclaimer**: Unfortunately I don't own nor am I involved with the production of Chuck. On the plus side I work cheap, so if Chris or Josh is reading this - call me.

**Synopsis**: Thrown by the see-saw of events that have changed how he views his relationship with Sarah, Chuck is confronted by Ellie and subsequently decides that he's done being dictated too and wants to take charge of his destiny. Things don't go exactly as planned, and in the end it's Sarah who finds herself wondering what the future will hold as she tries to still the war within her between the Agent and the woman in love..

_A/N: Adult language and situations apply._

_A/N Addendum: Sorry it took so long to get this update out. I originally planned for the 26__th__ but I came down with Viral Pneumonia and damned if I found it difficult to write anything at all in the hospital, and interestingly enough this became a relationship heavy chapter with much of the mission related action shifted to the next unit.. :D Anyway, I'm back on track now. Thanks for your patience._

**Chuck versus Fallout Girl - Chapter Seven – Ain't Gonna Suffer No More**

* * *

The Nerd Herder zipped along sparsely populated roads, it was almost 2AM and the streets of Echo Park were empty except for the night owls. His mind was racing with two equally demanding emotions, concern for Sarah and elation at the kiss. He had no idea what had happened to upset Sarah so much but when he found her in the courtyard she seemed inconsolable. He recalled touching her and feeling her entire body begin to quiver. He was alarmed and excited at the same time, imagining that his touch could have such an effect on her. He remembered holding her in his arms as she vented her frustration, all the rage and pain that came out of her. He winced involuntarily as he recalled her fists pounding on his chest, but what hurt the most was her screaming into his breast. That pain, the anger, he wanted to take them all away from her, to make sure she'd never hurt like that again.

Then there was the kiss. She was so withdrawn, so like she'd been the night before only this time there was no alcohol to blame it on. That worried him. The troubling sight of a woman so strong, perhaps the strongest woman he knew, suddenly so vulnerable and knowing that this was what she feared the most. It unnerved him, but then she kissed him...the kiss. It wasn't like their kiss at the docks, so full of fear and passion that it was difficult to separate which was the stronger emotion. Nor was it like the one they'd shared in front of Roan, which was a kiss begun out of frustration that rapidly became something wonderfully out of control. No, this was a kiss rooted in need. He could feel her need for something she was missing, a wanting for something so badly that she felt compelled to take it. The kiss excited him, elated him, and it confused him as well. He wished that he could be certain it was him, and not someone else, that she needed just then. Him and not Bryce Larkin she was craving so much.

He opened the door to the apartment, his head still lost in thought when he suddenly realized that he wasn't alone. From the foyer he could see Ellie sitting at the table, a cup of tea in her hands and a concerned look on her face. She didn't say anything at first, just watched him as he walked into the room, but when he turned to go toward his room he could hear her throat clear.

"Is Sarah going to be alright?" It was Ellie's voice and she sounded tired and sad.

"Sis?" Chuck worried at the sight of his sister, and the dark circles under her eyes.

"I said, is Sarah going to be alright?" Ellie repeated herself, her voice was still tired but less sad as frustration crept in.

"I think so, I got her to bed and she seemed better." He kept it simple, matter of fact.

"What happened Chuck? What's going on with you two? The other night you were in a funk and taking it out on her, but by the time we went to bed everything seemed fine." Ellie put down her tea. "Then tonight she's having a breakdown in the courtyard."

"Ellie, it's..." He hesitated.

"God help you if the next words out of your mouth are 'it's complicated' Chuck Bartowski, because it's not complicated. That woman is in love with you. Head over heels in love with you. You don't have a scene like that if you're not in love with someone." Ellie was standing now, arms crossed and a look on her face that suggested an incoming storm.

He stood there for a few seconds, wondering what to do, what to say. He knew Ellie had come to love Sarah almost as much as he did and as much as that thrilled him, it was going to make his life hell right now. "It's her ex. Bruce is in town again." Chuck hated himself but lying to Ellie, but this wasn't much of a lie. He was sure Bryce had something to do with tonight.

"Oh Chuck, I'm so sorry little brother." Ellie swept him up in a sisterly hug. "Are you alright? Is she, is Sarah...?"

"No, no nothing like that." Chuck hoped it was nothing like that. "He just has this way of turning her world upside down when he's around."

"Like the last time he was here, and you two broke up for two months?" her concern was obvious.

"Yeah, like that. Only this time is different, this time I got to talking to him, you know just trying to figure him out, and he's not really a bad guy." He was tired, and starting to ramble.

"Oh Chuck." Ellie shook her had dejectedly.

"No, really Ellie. He's smart and he's nice enough, plus he's got that whole classically handsome thing going on..." Chuck choked back the sudden pain he felt rising form his stomach. "I just, it's just that I see him and I see me, and I think 'why me again?' and there's no good answer there."

Ellie stared at her brother, he was looking away from her, in obvious pain doubting himself and his relationship with Sarah, she sighed. "Chuck honey, Sarah loves you. You've got to stop selling yourself short." Ellie grabbed his jaw with her hand, turned his face back to hers and squeezed until his lips pursed. "Listen to me mister, you're a good guy. He's classically handsome? Well you're handsome too, and gentle and caring, and you love her. And she loves you, I've seen it in her eyes when you two don't know anyone's watching you. The way she stares at you sometimes, you just have to trust that. Trust in her, that's all you have to do."

Chuck carefully removed Ellie's hand form his jaw, "I know El, it's just hard sometimes when I look at her and I know she could have any guy she wants."

"But she's with you stupid, doesn't that tell you anything?" Ellie hugged him tightly, and patted him on the back. "Believe me little brother, I know Sarah and she's not going anywhere. It's just that exes are hard to deal with, especially with a jealous boyfriend around." Ellie releases him and looks into her brother's eyes. "Maybe while Bruce is in town what Sarah needs is more of a friend than a boyfriend? Maybe she needs the Chuck that was taking care of her in the courtyard tonight instead of a jealous dope giving her a hard time?"

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Chuck smiled weakly at his sister. "Do you ever get tired of being right El?"

"No, not really." She playfully slapped his arm. "Good night Chuck, and remember, just be the you she fell in love with and it'll all be okay."

"Night Ellie, and thanks." He gave her a kiss on the cheek, and turned toward bed.

Chuck went to his room and changed for bed. He was conflicted, he'd lied to Ellie again, but there was a lot of truth in what he said. Where had it come from, was he really still that jealous of Bryce? Of course he was, part of him knew that Sarah would never be over him, not really. He thought about what Ellie had said, and it struck him how she saw things so clearly when he couldn't even tell her what the truth was. Did Sarah really love him? If not what was she doing watching him when she thought no one else was around to see, it wouldn't be for cover then. Cover. It was the new 'four letter word' of his world. Would Ellie have said what she said if she'd known that he and Sarah weren't really together, that she was just his fake girlfriend? A grim thought crossed his mind, that little tidbit certainly invalidated the theory that she's with him because she wants to be, didn't it?

He lay in bed pondering that point, and at first glance it seemed obvious that Sarah was only with him because it was her job to be there...but that didn't explain everything. It didn't explain the times she touched him or gave him a quick kiss and there was no one around to see it. It didn't explain those sweet smiles or the furtive looks he got that she thought he didn't know about. And there were other things, like how for the second time in as many days he'd held her in his arms, not as a fake boyfriend, but the way a man holds a woman. His thoughts returned to the scene in the courtyard.

She was a conundrum, his Sarah, a riddle wrapped in an enigma of long blond hair. She wouldn't go on a real date with him, she feared intimacy and appearing vulnerable around him was almost a cardinal sin, and yet she would let him hold her while she cried. He could still smell her on him, feel her as she clung to him releasing the demons that were tormenting her. He was a source of comfort to her, that thought struck him like a hammer. How many people could say that about anyone? He thought too about how she was when the pain had left her, still in his arms her breathing steady, her heart beating with his and the smell of her hair overwhelming his senses. He could have held her like that forever, but whatever she needed from him she'd taken. That was the problem really, she always got what she wanted and then left him to deal with the fallout.

Chuck laughed mirthlessly to himself, Morgan was right in a way, when they fought he was devastated, as if a bomb had gone off and rendered the landscape of his heart a blasted heath. Yes he had issues to deal with but they had nothing to do with Jill. It was Sarah. It was always Sarah. She was his fallout girl.

He yawned and his heavily lidded eyes closed for a final time that night. He knew what he had to do now, even though it wasn't what he wanted to do it was what must be done. In a few hours they would talk. He would do the talking, he would take charge of his life for once. '_It was time to contain the fallout._' He thought. Turning onto his side he fell into an uneasy slumber and despite his newfound resolve Chuck tossed and turned, tormented by the dreams of goddesses and angels, of golden hair that smelled of rose water and lilacs, and of a fierce beauty curled up within his arms.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

The first thing he became aware of was his tongue. It felt thick and fluffy, as if it was composed almost entirely of fleece. Next he noticed how dry his mouth was, like a desert. '_The dryness was probably a result of the barbiturate laced in the water'_ he thought. He tried to sit up and his head swam, the world went white then red as his vision unfocused. '_Damn Casey' he thought, 'protecting team dynamics was one thing but this was overstepping your bounds old man._' He felt around the dimly lit cell and his hand struck something hard and plastic. A bottle? He picked it up and unscrewing the top held the cap to his nose. No scent at all. He smiled at first then cursed himself. Bryce realized that he'd let his guard down, if he'd smelled the bottle of water Casey had handed him the first time he's sure he'd have smelled the telltale chemical trace of the drugs. Despite what some people believed nothing is completely odorless, and Bryce had a sense of smell a perfumer would envy, a nose sensitive enough to pick up even the slightest chemical trace. Satisfied Casey wasn't trying to poison him again he began drinking and before he knew it most of the bottle had gone down his throat.

Dehydration staved off, he felt the fuzziness leave him and his senses returned slowly to their natural heightened state. When he was satisfied the drugs were losing their grip he stood up, unsteadily at first, but finally he was up on his own two feet. Bryce remembered what Casey had said. He'd called him a fucking amateur. '_Maybe,_'_ he thought, _'_Casey should think twice before locking a CIA operative into a CIA designed holding cell._' He laughed quietly to himself as he took stock of his surroundings. Sarah and he were two of the best in the Company. When it came to infiltration, seduction, or assassination she was the go to girl. Bryce's strengths were different. He was a master of all manner of surveillance, stealth, and escape tactics. It was one of the reasons they were the perfect team in the field, their skills complemented each other brilliantly. He set to work as a part of him mourned the loss of their partnership, mourned even more than the loss of their intimacy, but she was no longer the woman he knew so he pushed those thoughts out of his mind and focused on the task at hand.

A quick inventory of his person showed that Casey had removed him of all the obvious tools, his gun, knives, lockpick set were all gone. So too were his shoes, belt, and watch. Smiling he thought of something Casey had missed, he felt the cuff of his pant leg, and began rolling the material between his fingers until a small sliver of metal protruded from the edge of the cuff. He extracted the three inch long pick and then went to the other side of the pant leg, then the other leg entirely, repeating the process three more times until he had a set of four titanium lockpicks in his hand. He smiled and placed them in his mouth, then retrieved the plastic water bottle. Draining it of the last few ounces of water he replaced the cap then placed the hard white plastic against the edge of the control panel located in the cell. He took a deep breath and struck the bottle with the palm of his hand. Then again. Again. Finally on the fourth blow the panel popped completely free. He looked at the plastic bottle, crinkled and creased from his efforts but otherwise intact. '_Physics' he thought, 'is a wonderful thing._' Discarding the bottle he inspected the exposed wiring and circuitry behind the panel, yanking free some wires and then using the picks one by one he jammed the free wires against other parts of the panel creating a series of new circuits. When he was done he stood back and looked at his handiwork, a certain sense of pride in what he'd done. There were maybe two other people in the Company who could get out of a level four detention cell, and both of them were instructors at the Farm. Now all he needed was something to short the panel and he was home free. Suddenly he realized that he'd forgotten one key factor. He needed water or another conductive liquid to short the panel, but the water bottle was empty. He cursed silently to himself, then a smile crossed his face...it was time to improvise.

Minutes later Bryce was in his car, the Ferrari roaring down the freeway, the cool morning air blowing in his face and helping keep him awake. It was just a few minutes after six in the morning and there was only one place he could think to go, one place where he knew he might find help.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Chuck groaned as he silently left the apartment. He needed coffee in the worst way right then. He looked at his watch, it was barely seven and he'd had less than a five hours sleep for the third day in a row. Worse, what sleep he did get was hardly restful. He'd tossed and turned so much that when he woke his bedding was askew and the blankets were on the floor. As he climbed into the Herder he gave serious consideration to calling in sick to work, he had the sick days after all, but he thought better of it. He was on his way to Sarah's for 'a talk' and work would be a necessary distraction for him after that. As he drove he thought over what Ellie had said to him last night, and he'd decided she was right, or at least mostly right. There was something real between Sarah and him. Now might not be the best time to explore it much less talk it out, but something had to be done. They were in the middle of an important mission, Casey and the General would be watching their every move, and Bryce being Bryce, well he knew who would get the blame if it all went south. He didn't know what he was going to say. Should he tell her how he felt, let her know it was all going to be okay or should he give her another version of the fountain speech, put it all on hold and remain just friends even if that wasn't what he really wanted. What was best for them? For him? He wished he had answers instead of questions. Instead he just hit the gas and drove.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

She squeezed a largish dollop of cinnamon flavored toothpaste out and began brushing her teeth, savoring the clean, almost astringent flavor of the cinnamon. Sarah had learned a long time ago that when chaos surrounded her, clarity of thought could be had in the performance of something routine. It was one of the few things she shared in common with Casey. He could lose himself in thought breaking down and cleaning any type of firearm, with her it was the mundane. Brushing her teeth, flossing, folding clothes, sharpening her knives, any of the little mindless chores that she did on a daily, or almost daily, basis. Those were her refuge for thought and reflection. Right now she was reflecting on how to deal with Chuck.

Cupping her hand under the faucet she scooped water into her mouth and rinsed before reaching for her mouthwash and becoming immersed in thought again. Months ago she was stunned to hear him talk about wanting a normal life with a normal girl, and how that would never be her. A part of her knew she'd never be good enough for him, she'd never expected him to say it to her in so many words. She'd lashed out at him, treated him badly for weeks afterwards. Jill's arrival didn't help matters, it merely served to drive them farther apart, push them farther into the 'friends' category. Friends. It took them weeks to repair the damage from that one night, between her hurt feelings and his guilty conscious, it was an effort just to reach that nice patch of middle ground called 'friends'. Then yesterday happened and all that work was undone. Until last night she'd never admitted it to herself how badly those words had wounded her. Until last night she'd never known why he'd chosen to speak to her like that, to purposely break her heart. Now she knew. Bryce. Sarah swore, when this was over, there would be a reckoning between them. Whatever there was between her and Chuck, was between her and Chuck, and no one else. When this was over Bryce Larkin was going to know what it meant to fuck with her personal life.

She could feel the heat rising up in her cheeks, the agent's mask slipping. She spit the mouthwash into the sink and grabbed a hand towel. Wetting it under the faucet she wrung it out thoroughly and then pressed a damp cloth to her face. She began to slowly breath in and out to regain her composure. One…two…three…she breathed in and out, long slow deep breaths…four…five…six…it had been years since it took her more than three breaths to regain complete control of herself, to reign in the emotional turmoil…seven…eight. There, she was back. She let the towel fall to the vanity top. Eight breaths. _'It didn't take us more than four breaths to overcome the shakes after killing your first mark,' the Agent within her spoke. 'but dealing with Chuck takes eight? You're losing it Walker.'_ She knew the Agent was right, but that didn't make it any easier. '_Maybe if you'd been there last night we wouldn't have this problem now.' Sarah thought at the Agent. 'So where were you when I needed you?_' When no answer was forthcoming she knew why. '_That's what I thought. Coward._' She braced herself and looked in the mirror. The person staring back at her was torn in two, a woman who might be falling in love and an Agent who definitely had a job to do. As bad as that was, the worst part was that they were fighting over the same real estate. They were fighting over Chuck. Just then she heard a knock at the door. _'Shit! Who was it now?'_ She sighed and shot a look at the clock as she headed toward the door, it was six fifty-eight in the morning.

"Chuck" she grumbled as she opened the door. "I swear, I know we need to talk but now is not the time..." She stopped in mid sentence as her eyes came to focus on the ragged looking figure leaning in the doorway of her hotel room. "Bryce?"

"Surprise" he managed a wan smile which faded rapidly as the drugs coursing through his system reminded him that despite their diminished presence, they were still in fact there. He swooned in the doorway as he felt something bubbling up from within. "Mind if I use your bathroom?"

Sarah guided her unwelcome guest to the bathroom just in time to watch him double over the toilet and evacuate the sparse contents of his stomach. She swore Murphy must be riding herd on her life because she was damned if there was much else that could go wrong this morning. Sarah sighed, when this was all over she was going to sleep for a week. At least things couldn't possibly get worse at this point.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Chuck parked the Herder next to a pair of familiar looking exotic cars. A midnight black Porsche 911 and a candy apple red Ferrari. He precariously balanced his cargo and bumped his hip into the door of the Herder to slam it shut. Walking past them back he couldn't' help but notice the Ferrari strategically placed between the Porsche and the Herder. He couldn't help but find it poetic in it's own way, Bryce always seemed to find a way to come between Sarah and him. Entering the lobby of Maison23 Chuck was suddenly aware of all the happy, loving couples that were enjoying one another's company and milling about despite the earliness of the hour. A small sign near the lobby entrance to the hotel restaurant proclaimed it closed for a private function and a banner hanging overhead announced a wedding breakfast for some happy couple. The reality of his situation struck him so hard he staggered back into the elevator. The last time Bryce had been here Chuck had given her _The Speech_, now on his way to her hotel room he had been prepared to give her another variation of the same speech again when seeing those couples, seeing those happy loving couples, changed his mind. He knew what he would say to Sarah now, and it wasn't exactly what he'd planned to say, and it wasn't exactly what Ellie told him to say, and it sure as hell wasn't what Sarah would want to hear but it was what he needed to tell her. Chuck may not be as suave or sophisticated as Bryce, he may not be some sort of super spy or even a trained agent, but he was damned sure he wasn't going to be the butt of this particular joke any longer.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

The shower had finally stopped and steam was roiling out of the space around the partially closed bathroom door. Sarah had her work clothes laid out on the bed but was back in front of the closet trying to decide what she'd wear for tonight's mission. She stood there in deep contemplation, her freshly washed hair had dried into gentle curls that now cascaded loosely about her shoulders. The moist heat of from the bathroom licked at her bare legs and made her acutely aware of the fact that she was standing barefoot and still dressed in her night clothes, a pair of Chuck's old boxers and his classic Star Wars t-shirt. If she'd any doubts she should have changed before this they were erased when she heard his voice.

"Coffee?" Chuck managed to somehow say the word without his voice breaking the higher registers despite the fact that the most beautiful creature in all of Creation was standing there in _**his**_ boxers and _**his**_ favorite shirt.

Sarah jumped at his voice, color rising up in her cheeks. She was suddenly feeling both embarrassed and vulnerable. She was a trained agent, but she didn't hear him come in and the fact that he'd manage to surprise her simply underscored just how distracted she'd become from yesterday's events and Bryce's untimely arrival. "Uh, hi Chuck." She swallowed. "You're early."

"I am? Well I guess I couldn't sleep." He gave he a genuine, if half hearted, smile before allowing his eyes to wash up and down her figure. "Wow Sarah, that look brings new meaning to casual Fridays." He gave her a goofy grin. "New dress code at the double O?"

She shot him a look that spoke volumes about pain later on, then smiled. "Sales are down and we thought we'd try something new." She ignored him and reached into the closet then shouted over her shoulder, "So is there a reason you're here so early?"

"Sure. A couple of reasons actually." He looked down at the floor near the small table by the bathroom door and saw a familiar looking men's shirt and dress slacks that were just a little small to be his. He looked around the room surreptitiously and held out a tray to Sarah. "For starters there's coffee."

Sarah turned and took the proffered cup, then prying the lid off she inhaled deeply and a small smile crossed her lips. "Mmm, my favorite. But they don't have the Viennese roast downstairs, where did you get it?"

"I stopped by that little free trade coffee house you love so much." He smiled as he saw her face light up after the first sip. "And I had them add a shot of hazelnut syrup to it just the way you like it."

"You shouldn't have gone to all that trouble Chuck," Sarah scolded him playfully. "but I'm glad you did."

"Well it's the least I could do after last night. You know you scared the hell out of me Sarah, Ellie too." He watched her expression change from pleasant amusement to one of genuine concern before the walls started to go up behind her eyes. He knew then, if he was going to talk to her he needed to do something now to keep her drawn out, so he went for shock value. "I'm just sorry I didn't know how Bryce takes his or I'd have gotten him a cup of coffee too."

Sarah's mouth went dry, her heart raced, her breathing became shallow. For a split second she thought she'd have a panic attack then she took a single deep breath and her Agent self regained tenuous control. "Why would Bryce be here Chuck. It's not like he stayed here last night, you know that."

"I know he wasn't here when I left you earlier this morning, but he's here now." Chuck said flatly.

"Chuck, please give me some credit. It's not like I'm jumping into bed with him just because he's back in town. There's nothing between us, not anymore." Sarah's mouth snapped shut. She wasn't sure where that had come from, Sarah wondered why Chuck's comment about Bryce seemed to undo her Agent façade, making her sound defensive.

"Sarah, I never said you'd jumped into bed with him. I know it's over between you two, he told me so himself." Chuck noted the glint in her eyes and realized there had probably been a better way to say that, nevertheless he went on. "Just show me the courtesy of not lying to me, okay?"

"So you'll believe Bryce if he tells you we're through but not me?" Sarah felt a spark of anger and suddenly her Agent self was resurgent, pushing down her other emotions. "But if I tell you there's nobody here I'm lying to you? Way to trust me Chuck."

"Sarah, please…" He shook his head and started listing his observations in a tired, almost emotionless voice. "You're still wearing what you slept in last night but you've taken a shower this morning." He saw the question forming on her lips and cut her off instantly. "I know because you've washed your hair already this morning but instead of fixing it up like you normally do you let it air dry. Then there's a pair of men's pants and a man's shirt sitting on the floor near the bathroom door. That and the door that was slightly ajar when I walked in letting steam into the room. Put it all together and it adds up to only one thing, someone has to be here with you."

She listened to him and was both proud and shocked at how he picked up on the little details, then she mentally smacked herself. Of course he did, that's what Chuck does. His observations were always acute, he'd shown himself to be exceptionally intelligent, a genius really, and the amount of data he could absorb and process was mystifying. Even the smallest detail was enough for him to make an intuitive leap of quantum proportions, and what always surprised her was that he was invariably correct. _'It was like the coffee', she thought. 'Only Chuck would go to a some small, hole in the wall store some twenty minutes out of his way to get her favorite coffee because one time she commented that they were the only store in LA that knew how to do a true Vienna roast."_ She sighed inwardly and started cataloging the things he'd learned about her; Godiva chocolates, gardenias, her favorite OPI nail polish color, the shampoo she used, her distaste for olives…the list went on she realized, but even if it didn't it was already too long. That thought still bounced around in her head as she became aware of his progress toward the bathroom door and she focused on what he was saying.

"So I'm asking myself, who could have shown up in the last five hours to interrupt you before you could fix your hair and why would you let them use your shower?" He reached for the doorknob opened the door, looking back at her he saw the expression of surprise in her face. "Care to join us Bryce?"

"That was pretty impressive Chuck." Bryce stepped out of the bathroom clad only in a towel. "You've really come a long way."

"Well I'd like to think I'm not a completely incompetent spy." He forced a smile looking at a bemused Bryce and a startled Sarah. "After all I sort of had a clue once I saw your car parked outside next to Sarah's. Really, for super spies you guys are pretty lame when it comes to sneaking around." Chuck snorted. "Good thing this is a fake relationship or you'd both be busted."

There was an air of forced levity in the room as Bryce and Chuck shared a few fake chuckles and tried to act as if this was a perfectly normal conversation. Sarah said nothing for the longest time, but simply held her coffee in both hands and stared blankly at him, as if she was looking right through him. Chuck felt the need to maintain the momentum he'd built up, if he was going to do what he had to do it now while he still had some control over the situation, before Bryce became any more of an issue.

"Do me a favor and give us a second?" Chuck handed Bryce his cup of coffee and nodded toward the door to the hallway.

Bryce grabbed the coffee, his discarded clothes and headed out the door without a word. Chuck turned to Sarah then, she was staring at him, unmoving, and she still held the cup in her hands and he noticed that steam was no longer rising from the surface. He stepped toward her and grabbed the cup by it's rim, carefully pulling it out of her hands and setting it on the table.

"Sarah? We need to talk." He put his hand on her arm and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Sure Chuck, let's talk." Her voice tight, her words were clipped, and she moved stiffly toward one of the green chairs in front of her window.

"Sarah…" Chuck sighed. He could tell she'd already started shutting him out. He joined her on the other chair.

"What did you want to talk about Chuck? I mean, it's a little early for you to be here so it must be important. Something you didn't cover that last time at the fountain?" Those last words left her mouth before she knew they were even there. She hadn't intended to bring up the fountain but Chuck being here, Bryce just outside, the whole scene from last night was still so fresh in her mind. The Agent within began to berate her, _'Stupid Walker, Stupid Stupid Stupid! This is why you don't get involved with an asset.'_

"Actually, you got it in one." He watched as her eyes hardened, that might have been the wrong thing to say but he was committed now. "It is about the fountain, last night, last month, three months ago...you know we really should just start avoiding the fountain altogether."

She snorted in response.

"Care to share?" The snort caught him off-guard but when he saw the bemused smile on her face he knew Sarah was back, and the Agent was gone.

"Just couldn't help but think you're right. The fountain hasn't been too good for us has it?" Sarah gave him a sad, pensive look.

"No, it hasn't. Maybe it's like a gateway…" Chuck struggled with what he was trying to say. "It's like when we're on either side we know our roles but the fountain is where the two worlds collide – my normal life and the one we live. On the outside I'm the Intersect and you're my handler, and we work our missions and have our cover dates." He looked into her eyes and there was just the faintest hint of melancholy. "Then when we're in the apartment we're Chuck and Sarah. I mean sure, our relationship is fake but everything else feels real, and at least I can pretend that it's not a lie that I'm living. I can pretend you want to be there…"

She caught the tremble in his voice and looked up to see his soft, brown eyes starting to water. Sarah reached for his forearm and gave him a reassuring squeeze just as he had a few minutes before. "Chuck, I've told you before that I don't consider my time with you to be work. I like spending time with you, it just can't ever be…anything."

Chuck looked down at her hand on his arm and then looked up at her, gracing her with a warm grin. She gave him a sad little smile back and their eyes locked. There was an intensity in his stair that made her want to break eye-contact but she couldn't. It was as if he held her there by sheer force of will.

"I know, you've said. You've said it to me a dozen times or more, there can never be anything between us, it would cause too many problems, endanger the Intersect, I could be put in a bunker…you could be reassigned." He put his free hand on top of hers, pressing it into his arm.

"Nothing's changed Chuck, for all the reasons you've listed. We can't ever be anything more than what we are now." She reached across the table with her free hand and gently stroked his cheek with her thumb.

"You're wrong. One thing has changed." He searched her eyes for any resistance to what he was saying, instead he saw only confusion. The Agent was gone.

"Wha-?" She tried to speak but he'd removes his hand from hers and put a finger to her lips, stifling her.

"I've changed Sarah. I'm not the same man I was a year ago on the rooftop, or three months ago when I gave you that stupid speech about wanting a normal life."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with wanting a normal life." She pulled his hand from her lips. "Trust me, you made me realize just how good normal can be."

"Well that's strange, because you've made me realize that I've never been happy being normal." He chuckled quietly. "In fact I've never really been normal, and when I've tried to be I'm just miserable. Just like when I try to deny how I feel about you." He watched as visibly withdrew into herself, wrapping her arms around her legs and balancing her chin on her knee and then, whether it was a new found confidence in himself or the fact he'd had less than four hours sleep for the third day in a row, Chuck decided to go for broke. "Look, I'm going to make easy for you. I know there are a ton of reasons why we can't be together, fine. I refuse to accept them. Any of them. All of them. This thing we have, the thing under our cover thing? It's more real to me than anything I ever felt before, including anything I ever had with Jill, and I don't want to give it up." Her eyes went wide at that point and Chuck seized her hands, clasping them tightly.

"Chuck, we can't…" She was touched by what he said. His words, spoken from the heart had taken over her own, but now she knew there was nothing for her to do but accept reassignment.

"I know we can't but I don't care." He saw the unshed tears welling up in her eyes, she had already made her decision. "Listen, I have a proposition for you - give me this one chance, just this one chance before you ask Beckman to reassign you. Let me prove to you that I can have feelings for you and do the work without it affecting the mission or the team. If I can do that, if we can pull off a perfect mission, will you give us a chance?"

"And then what?" Her eyes narrowed and her voice picked up an edge, "What if you succeed Chuck? Do you expect me to throw every rule out the window and start dating you then? Is this an ultimatum?"

"No, no it's not an ultimatum Sarah." He laughed. "I know better than to issue Sarah Walker of the CIA an ultimatum. I like to consider it a request. Give us a chance. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't, but at least it'll have been real and I know we'll still be friends."

Sarah stared at him. He was so self assured, not at all the Chuck she was used to. She started to probe. "What it I can't handle it Chuck? What if it's me and not you, and I can't do my job and have a real relationship at the same time? What if I lose you?"

"If it comes to that, if...if you think it's going to go down that way then nothing has to change on your end. You can go on pretending it's all just a cover, you can go on _pretending_ you have no feelings for me. Then if all you want to be is friends, we can be friends." He gave her a comforting smile and waited for her to correct him but she didn't bat an eye at the supposition that she was just pretending not to have feelings for him. "In fact right now I think you need a friend more than you need a jealous emotional boyfriend running around trying to woo you, even if he is devilishly handsome." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

She laughed, the tension suddenly broken she couldn't stop a few tears escaping her eyes. "So I can decide we stay just friends and nothing has to change? Then why? Why do this? What's the point of it all Chuck?"

He swallowed hard before answering. "Because Sarah, I'm through with all the games and the lies. I'm tired of saying 'it's complicated' to Ellie or Awesome, I'm tired of making excuses as to why we can't do something or go somewhere. I'm not going to hide behind a fake relationship anymore when I want a real one with you."

"But our cover…" Sarah looked torn, she realized he wasn't breaking up with her because he wanted someone else, he was breaking up with her because he wanted her, the real her.

"If it doesn't work out our cover stays intact - outside of my home with Ellie and Devon. At home, well, we can tell them that we've decided to take a break. We're just going to be friends until we can see where this is going. She won't like that but if it comes to that don't worry. I know my sister – she'll blame me." Chuck gave her a wan smile.

"Ellie won't blame you, after the last time she'll assume this is me freaking out again." Sarah was genuinely concerned, she liked Ellie and hated to disappoint her.

"Don't worry about it Sarah. I'm pretty sure Ellie thinks you're the greatest thing since sliced bread. Me on the other hand? She loves me but let's just say her confidence in me isn't as strong as yours. She'll accept that I'm to blame for this if I tell her I am. She'll badger me about it but I'm ready for that too." His features set firmly. "For my part, whether it works out or not I promise you that I'll remain professional when we're on a mission. I'm not saying it won't bother me when you have to go into harms way to protect me, or get close to some mark to do your job, but I understand it's a sacrifice you are called on to make so I am willing to learn to live with it for you."

"But why?" She looked at him wonderingly. "Why all of this, why now?"

"I think the last two days, Bryce being here, it's all sort of served as a catalyst and I've come to a conclusion: I'm a selfish man and I want to keep you around as long as possible." He stood up, grasping her hands and pulling her out of the chair. "I want more, but I know you aren't sure you can give it to me right now. It doesn't matter, I'm not running away or giving up on us and I know that one day you'll change your mind. I just want to be there when you do."

He stepped forward and pulled her to his chest. Sarah let herself melt into his embrace and wrapped her arms around his torso, her hands travelled up his back to rest on his shoulders while her face fell into the crook of his neck where his scent filled her nose as she inhaled deeply. The tension she'd felt since last night, the emotions and confusion that had plagued her since the day before, were suddenly gone. In his arms she felt safe and loved, she felt like a normal girl. Sarah almost whimpered when Chuck broke away and started for the door. He turned only once, seeing her standing in front of the window, the morning sun shining behind her and bathing her in a golden light. She was an angel, his angel, and she was worth it even if they were nothing more than friends. For now.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Bryce watched the touching scene from the hallway, glancing surreptitiously through the partially opened door. He'd heard Chuck's impassioned speech and actually felt moved by it, which was oddly disconcerting for a seasoned agent such as himself. It was no wonder that Sarah had fallen for him so hard, he'd found a way past all of her defenses both natural and agency honed. Of course now Bryce's problems were manifest. Besides dealing with Casey's borderline personality issues, he had to make sure that he and Chuck remained 'friends'. Too much of what he planned depended on Chuck trusting him, but at the same time he had to make sure Sarah remained focused on the mission which meant playing her role as his lover and not Chuck's. As their embrace ended he stepped back and waited for Chuck in the hall.

"Bryce." Chuck gave him a curt nod, noting that his erstwhile friend had redressed in last night's clothes and finished the coffee he'd been given.

"Chuck." Bryce nodded back, then as Chuck started to walk away he reached after him. "Chuck wait."

"What is it?"

"It's just that…I want you to know nothing happened between us, Sarah and I." Bryce tried to give him his most reassuring grin.

Chuck smiled back shoving his hands in his pockets. "Thanks."

"No problem. I mean it's not that I wouldn't want her back but I can take a hint, she's moved on." Bryce gave him a wan smile. "She really cares about you, you know?"

"Yeah, I just wish it was easier for us. Being the Intersect seems to keep coming up at the worst possible times." His smile faded.

"Just hang in there man. Sarah's not so good at talking about her feelings, you just have to trust that one day she'll open up to you." Bryce gave him a playful shoulder punch. "I mean, that's how it worked with us. It's not like she was all open and trusting form the get go, she's always been sort of closed off Chuck. Just don't let it get to you."

"Thanks Bryce, thanks a lot." He started to turn and walk away but stopped for just a second to address Bryce one last time. "Look, I'm heading in a little early to get some things done before I have to head off to the Buy More, I'm not due in there until noon and we're still set for the auction tonight about nine, right? So I'll see you later."

"Sure, no problem buddy. See you later." He waved Chuck off and headed back into the hotel room.

Bryce closed the door behind him and was greeted by the sight of Sarah sitting quietly in one of the green chairs near the window. She'd taken the brief time since Chuck's departure to change into her uniform. She was lost in thought but by the time he'd entered the room she'd turned her head and her eyes were tracking his every movement. Her gaze was not a particularly friendly one, in fact he knew that look. It was the last look many of her targets saw, it was the look of a predator…a very pissed off predator.

"Have a nice talk with Chuck?" She spit the words at him. "Good of you to offer him advice on me, sort of becoming a habit of yours isn't it?"

"Hey, I'm just looking out for my friend. Now if I'm wrong you tell me and I'll let Chuck know you don't really care about him." He watched as Sarah's face contorted momentarily.

"You wouldn't." Sarah she stated flatly.

"Why not? Unless you really do care about him." He watched her face and he could see the conflict within her eyes. "Now that would be another problem altogether. I mean if you are really interested in him, if you do care about Chuck, then good for you guys - but I have to ask when you plan on asking Beckman for reassignment? Or are you going to make me report you?"

"There's no reason to talk about reassignment. If you heard our conversation you know that there's no chance of anything going on between us. Chuck and I, there's nothing there we're just friends."

"Just friends Sarah? Really? That wasn't a friendly hug you too had, and that wasn't a 'just friends' conversation Chuck had with you." He moved carefully toward her. "We're not partners anymore Sarah, and Chuck's not just my friend he's the Intersect. If you won't do the right thing why shouldn't I?" He let his eyes bore into her.

She fought the panic rising within her, Bryce had her well and truly screwed. "What do you want Bryce? What is going on in that twisted little mind of yours?" Sarah's voice was quiet but with a noticeable edge.

"What I want is for this mission to go off without a hitch. What I want is for you to do your job _partner_," A thin smile traces his lips. "You back me up, just like old times. You and me, this one mission, and I'm out of your hair and you and Chuck can go play house, or not, whatever you want...at least until Casey decides to do something about it." Bryce reached for his socks and shoes, then cast an earnest look in her direction. "Just one thing Sarah, whatever you do? Don't hurt him. I really do like Chuck and I think he's suffered enough because of us, don't you?"

Sarah watched as Bryce sat down on the edge of the bed and finished dressing. She watched wordlessly as he walked out the door and closed it behind him without a sound. She turned and looked out the window, watching in silence until she saw him get into his car and drive away. Then reality caught up to her, the lightness of being she'd felt in Chuck's arms was gone and instead the weight of two worlds came crashing down on her. She staggered back under the sudden emotional burden, her knees buckling as she fell against the side of the bed and found herself sitting on the floor, her back against the bed and her knees drawn up to her chest constrained from escaping by her arms. Chuck had taken her world and turned it upside down with his declaration. He wanted her, the real her. He wanted a real relationship and he was willing to wait for her to come around, he was willing to fight to make it real. In his arms she'd never felt so loved or wanted in her life. Then there was Bryce.

Bryce took it all and poisoned it. He reminded her that she could never be the woman Chuck deserved. Her job would always be there, in the way, a source of constant pain and irritation to them. If she did as he asked, she was worried it would hurt Chuck. His protestations of friendship and understanding to the contrary, she knew Chuck didn't fully trust Bryce or her with him. Yet if she didn't do what he asked she'd be reassigned and lose Chuck forever. There was nothing for it, Bryce had won this time. She could figure this out after the mission was over, she just hoped Chuck was serious and she hoped he was able to remain professional through all of this. If he could, maybe she could give them a go, but somewhere deep inside the Agent within knew better. It wasn't Chuck that was the problem, it was her, Sarah, and it was her, the Agent. Those two disparate personalities that warred for dominance within her, they were the problem. She would have to find a way to reconcile them, to make space for him in her heart while keeping him at a distance when it was demanded of her. So far the Agent had been unable to do this, perhaps it was up to Sarah to find a way. She had to find a way.

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Ellie woke to the smell of fresh coffee and smiled. She reached out across the bed and Devon's side was cool to the touch, her smile quickly faded. She'd forgotten he had an early surgery, she'd planned on waking him up in her special way but that would have to wait. Maybe she could join him in the shower when he got home, the smile slowly returned. After a few minutes of failing to fall asleep she slowly dragged herself out of bed. She stumbled down the hall toward the kitchen, zeroing in on the coffee pot like a caffeine seeking missile. The first cup, lightly laced with cream and extra sugar, cut through the fog of fatigue that still plagued her. As the caffeine entered her system she perked up and took in her surroundings. Her tea cup from last night still sat on the table, neither Devon nor Chuck had put it in the sink. She picked it up and rinsed it out, Devon overlooking these things was normal but she'd trained Chuck to clear the table as second nature. She wondered if he'd overslept. She looked around and caught the microwave clock, it was almost half past eight.

Ellie moved quickly toward Chuck's room, she knew he'd overslept again and she'd wanted him to stop by and talk to Sarah. Poor Sarah, what kind of hold did that ex of hers have on her? Chuck needed to get it together before he lost her again, she was the best thing in his life and Ellie was damned if she'd let her get away. Her frustration with Chuck rising within her she opened the door to his room a little harder than intended and jumped back when it hit the door and started to shake. She couldn't believe it, his room, his bed, they were empty. She wasn't sure what to think, maybe her little brother wasn't as dense about Sarah as she'd thought, maybe he actually left early to talk to her.

Ellie toured his room aimlessly, looking for anything that might give her a clue as to what was really going on. She saw nothing out of the ordinarily but was annoyed to notice Chuck's dirty cloths pilling up on the floor. She groaned in frustration and collected a few items nearest her, launching them unsuccessfully toward his already full hamper. She grimaced as one shirt broke free from the pack and skirted across his computer table knocking several papers to the floor.

In frustration Ellie bent to collect the scattered papers when she saw a thick square of folded paper that looked like forms of some sort. Placing the rest of her burden on the desk she set down her coffee and carefully unfolded the packet. She scanned the pages quickly, then reached for Chuck's desk chair and sat down heavily. She scanned them again, flipping through them, stopping to read some highlighted sections in detail.

"Oh my. What have you done?" Ellie clutched them to her chest as if she was afraid they'd escape, her eyes welling up with tears. "Baby brother, what have you done?"

*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*---*

Casey practically danced down the stairs to the Castle, something that would approximate a smile already on his lips as he anticipated greeting Bryce with a cheery good morning after his night in the holding cell. He checked around, everything seemed to be in order, nothing out of place from the night before. He stopped by the galley and started the coffee maker, setting down the box of donuts he'd brought in. He wasn't normally one for sweets first thing in the morning but somehow the thought of Bryce Larkin spending the night in a holding cell made it seem like a day to celebrate.

He was almost skipping as he went down the hallway to the holding cell but when he saw inside he nearly tripped over himself. The cell door was open and the cell was empty. Pausing for just a second he walked inside. On the floor were a blanket and pillow, a discarded plastic bottle filled with a yellow liquid that he could readily identify by the tell-tale odor that permeated the room. He turned to inspect the control panel and realized that somehow a certain CIA agent had managed to conceal a number of lock picks which were now jutting out of the panel. He was also vaguely aware that the smell was stronger near the panel as well. The wheels turned within his brain.

"Sonofabitch Bryce Larkin." Casey spat the words out. Then as he inspected the damage closer he began talking to himself. "Pissed on the panel and everything. Next time Bryce my boy, you're ass is going in here naked and you'll get no water at all."

His good mood gone, Casey tromped toward the utility closet and prepared to clean up Bryce's mess. "Give me an excuse Larkin, any excuse..." he grumbled under his breath. It was going to be a long day for John Casey.

* * *

_A/N: Again, sorry for the slow update on this one. Viral Pneumonia is a bitch and oddly enough I just didn't feel like writing in the hospital. ___


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